


Marry Me A Little

by Nitz149



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Fluff, I am not good at tagging, M/M, Mentions of other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-08-03 15:38:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 25,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nitz149/pseuds/Nitz149
Summary: Alec Lightwood lived what he called a decent life. He had a great relationship with his siblings, Isabelle, Jace and Max. He had even made his peace with his parabatai Jace’s danger-prone girlfriend Clary. He was the Head of the Shadowhunters New York Institute. The conflicts between Shadowhunters and Downwolders were at an all time low.  It had been quiet enough for him to take out time to learn cooking (even before, he had been the only one of his siblings who could boast of making something edible and he was getting tired of takeouts.) The time he had for training ensured that he was fit enough to make men and women swoon alike, should he take off his shirt.However, all of it came crashing down with a single blow his parents dealt on their most recent visit.---------------------AU: Alec and Magnus are forced to marry each other to maintain the recently established peace.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. The title is from the Broadway musical.

Alec Lightwood lived what he called a decent life. He had a great relationship with his siblings, Isabelle, Jace and Max. He had even made his peace with his parabatai Jace’s danger-prone girlfriend Clary. He was the Head of the Shadowhunters New York Institute. The conflicts between Shadowhunters and Downwolders were at an all time low.It had been quiet enough for him to take out time to learn cooking (even before, he had been the only one of his siblings who could boast of making something edible and he was getting tired of takeouts.) The time he had for training ensured that he was fit enough to make men and women swoon alike, should he take off his shirt.

However, all of it came crashing down with a single blow his parents dealt on their most recent visit.

“Do you both understand what you are asking me here?”

“Alec, son, you have to understand. We wouldn’t ask you to if there was another way,” his dad answered. It seemed that they had decided to let Robert do all the talking today. It was quite unlike his mother to stay this quiet though. “We do know it is a man, if that helps.”

Alec scoffed. “No, it doesn’t dad. You are asking me to _marry_ someone I do not know, a Downworlder at that. When we used to hear about all the political marriages within Shadowhunter families, Jace, Iz and I would talk about how glad we were that you guys were above all that bullshit. And here you are, asking me to marry the High Warlock of Brooklyn, without knowing a goddamn thing about him?”

“Alec, we stand to lose everything. The Clave wants to conduct retrials for our involvement with the Circle. Your mother and I will be deruned. The only other way they offered us was to have our firstborn marry the High Warlock to maintain the recently established peace.”

“The peace that _I_ established - without any forced marriages, I might add,” Alec said bitterly. But he knew he did not have a choice. No matter what, he could not let his parents be pushed away from the society.

“Son - “ his father started but Alec put his hand up. He was tired of all the arguments, especially when he knew he was powerless here.

“When?” He asked tightly.

“Two weeks from now.”

“Do I get to meet him before?”

“Of course, son, I will have a meeting set up tomorrow.”

“No need, I’ll do it myself.”

“Alec, I am - we are sorry,” his mother said softly as he got up. He merely nodded and put a hand on her shoulder before he left.

Izzy and Jace were already waiting in his room when he reached there. Their “So are they giving you another promotion?” and “What’s next? Inner member at the Clave?” turned to “What’s wrong?” the moment they saw their older brother.

Alec crashed into his bed face first and related the whole conversation to them.

“They can’t make you,” Izzy cried out.

“They’ll be deruned, Iz.”

“So what, they made the mistake, they should face the punishment, not you,” she said holding his hand.

“I understand why you think you have to do this for them,” their adopted brother started but suddenly stopped. “You know what Alec, no, I don’t. All through the years, I have seen you take shit for Izzy and I. You tried being the perfect son, heck you _were_ the perfect son for mom and dad. And yet, they never saw it. Until now, until they needed it for their own benefit. You can’t do this Alec, let them face the consequences.”

Alec got up and hugged the two. “Guys, we can fight about this but ultimately, we all know this has to happen. It’s mom and dad we’re talking about. I can’t let them be exiled.” He had already resigned to the fact that his life was no longer his own. “Now you both need to help me make it bearable for myself. I don’t necessarily have to end up in an unhappy marriage.” He sighed.

“So what do we know about him so far?” Izzy looked at Jace, their source of all Downworlder gossip.

“Magnus Bane - High Warlock of Brooklyn. He is known to be quite elusive but also, well, a _player_. He sent his representative to the Downworld cabinet that Alec started, so he obviously is not the man who gets his hands dirty in daily affairs. I have heard he hosts some amazing parties - oh Iz you remember the one we went to at Pandemonium last week, I think that was one of his,” Jace reminded her, making Izzy agree on the amazing parties point.

“When are you meeting him?” Izzy asked.

“I haven’t called him yet but probably tomorrow. Wedding is supposed to be in two weeks.”

“Ask him for drinks at _Shadows Bistro_. It’s a nice, quiet place.” Alec nodded as he dialled the number he had only dialled once in the past.

“Bane,” a disinterested voice answered after a three rings.

“Hi, uhm, this is Alec - Alec Lightwood from the New York Shadowhunters Institute?”

“Oh hello, Alexander, I assume you heard about the arrangement with the Clave?” Alec started to protest against the use of his full first name but decided against it, having more important things to speak about.

“Uh yes. So, I was wondering if we could perhaps meet before?”

“Sure. Seems reasonable. What did you have in mind?”

“ _Shadows Bistro_ , tomorrow at 8? _”_

“I’ll see you then.” With that, Magnus Bane hung up leading Alec to crash into his bed once more and groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Comments and concrit appreciated. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus talks to his friends about the Warlock Council's decision.

When Catarina entered Magnus’ apartment, the place was a portrait of chaos. The only items still on the ground seemed to be furniture. There were tens of plates. pans , cups and knives whizzing around. Books and paperweights flew around, as did about a dozen of cushions. Once every few moments, something would break free from the orbit and crash against the walls, or the floor, even the ceiling. Catarina ducked as a knife flew a few inches above her head and thrust into the wall. Another plate headed towards Chairman Meow, one of Magnus’ cats, but changed path mid-air to crash against the wall, sending its pieces flying about. A cushion popped as it hit the balcony door; its feathers faithfully finding their way back into the disarray. And in the centre of the pandemonium, stood Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, his face contorted in rage and desperation.

“Magnus, you need to stop,” she said standing in behind him.

“I don’t see why,” Magnus responded, without turning.

“This is crazy.”

“I agree with you there.”

“Magnus!” Catarina finally cried out, and spread out her hands to pause the flying objects mid-air. This finally made Magnus stop, causing the items fall to the ground. His shoulders were slumped when returned around.

“Ragnor tell you the whole thing?” he asked wile pouring them drinks.

“Just that they are pushing this marriage on you. I don’t understand why though, and I especially don’t understand why you are going along with it.”

“I am not aware of the entire conversation between the Clave and our Council but apparently there were talks going of a marriage alliance to cement the bonds,” Magnus waved his hands in the air as he spoke. “In the end the Clave decided I would be a good enough candidate given my current stature. They need someone who is someone to appease the Clave. And while I fulfilled that requirement, along with multiple other warlocks, I am the only one who has recently shown support to vampires and werewolves and the first one to suggest peace with Shadowhunters. The Sanctuaries we created without sharing the complete information with every warlock do not help.”

“How could we? The reason we had to build those Sanctuaries was warlocks being threatened by warlocks!” Catarina exclaimed. “But regardless of that, you are one of the most powerful warlocks on the Council, they can’t _make_ you marry someone.”

Magnus snorted. “Powerful as I may be, I cannot take on an entire Council, Cat. I would have chosen to decline and live on the run for sometime - until they come to their senses, but that would only put you, Ragnor and Raph and the others in more danger. They threatened to banish me and any supporters to the Spiral Labyrinth.”

“Let’s make a run for it, all of us. It will be like the old times.” Catarina tried to make a case for her idea but stopped when she saw the look in Magnus’ eyes.“So what? You will just go ahead and marry this man, you know nothing about?”

“What other choice do I have?”

“I’m so sorry, Mags,” Catarina whispered, holding her friend’s hand. A few minutes later, their friend Ragnor joined them as well. He had been at a Council meeting that Magnus had refused to go to as a futile sign of protest.

“Any good news?” Catarina asked.

Ragnor shook his head. “Not really. There is no way of getting out of this. Nothing with better results than this, at least. He’s a Lightwood - Robert and Maryse’s firstborn.”

“Lightwood, great. This couldn’t get any better,” Magnus groaned downing another drink.

“He’s the Head of their New York Institute,” Ragnor continued, ignoring Magnus’ outburst. He’s the one who started the regular Cabinet meetings between Downworlders and Shadowhunters.”

“You’re mistaken. I’ve known enough Lightwoods.” The Lightwoods had always been against providing basic rights to Downworlders. In fact, Maryse Lightwood was one of the major supporters of Valentine, bringing her husband into the Circle as well.

“This one’s different,” Ragnor insisted. “I spoke with Elias, _your_ representative to the council. He says the boy has done pretty good work to maintain peace. You already know it was his suggestions of transparency between the Downworlders and Nephilim and his actions to support the same that convinced the Council to even consider the signing the revised Accords.”

“Raphael and Elias have both told me good things about the Head of the Institute, but I wasn’t aware he was a Lightwood.”

“Well, he couldn’t be _that_ bad then, right?” Catarina offered. Magnus only grunted in response. Before Catarina could say more, they were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He did not recognise the number. _Probably someone else from the Council calling in for a laugh._

“Bane,” he said indifferently, hoping to disinterest the caller.

“Hi, uhm, this is Alec - Alec Lightwood from the New York Shadowhunters Institute?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad for the positive response received so far. A big thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos. Let me know what you think about this one. Concrit appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreaded meeting comes to pass.

“Leave these buttons open,” Izzy pretty much ordered Alec. She was helping him get ready for his _date_ as she was calling it (Alec refused to). He was wearing a dark blue shirt over skinny black jeans (a gift from Jace) and was highly uncomfortable even without Izzy’s additional inputs to the outfit.

“Iz, I am not going to pretend to be someone I am not, especially when he will know that soon enough,” he said rebuttoning his shirt.

Izzy smiled sadly. “Go charm him, big brother.”

* * *

“Alexander, I presume?” Alec looked up to see more glitter than he had ever seen in his lifetime. The man in front of him was wearing a purple jacket over a white shirt that was unbuttoned way more than Izzy had dared to suggest to him. Various necklaces and pendants, however, covered Magnus Bane’s bare chest. He was wearing a think black eyeliner, multiple rings, and a bunch of earrings on his right ear that reminded Alec of Izzy’s whip-bracelet.

“Yes,” he nodded as he gestured the other man to sit. “Nice to meet you, Magnus” He stretched out his hand. The warlock shook it with surprising softness.

“I would have assumed otherwise, given the circumstances.” Alec simply smiled, unsure of a proper response. His heart raced as he tried to think of a conversation starter. Fortunately, the waiter’s arrival saved him. “I’ll have a martini,” Magnus ordered and looked at him. Alec ordered the same.

“So what is your reason to accept this sham of a union?” Magnus asked. Any hopes Alec had had of a happy marriage were quashed right there.

“The Clave wants to strengthen relations and punish my parents at the same time - they were in the Circle when they were young,” he explained, in an indifferent tone. Magnus nodded. For a moment, Alec thought he was disappointed but the expression was gone too soon for him to be sure. “And you?”

“When your Clave came up with the offer of a marriage, the Warlock Council voted me to be the lucky winner. I think they saw some ironic beauty given my - well - lifestyle choices,” Magnus replied, as if daring Alec to ask more about the _lifestyle choices_. “The threat of banishment was floated by, of course,” he added as an afterthought.

Over drinks, Magnus ensured that they sorted out all the “logistical details”. The wedding was to be at the Institute after which Alec would move to Magnus’ loft in Brooklyn. (“I have a spare bedroom, if that makes you more comfortable,” the warlock had said thoughtfully.) The Clave and Warlock Council had taken the liberty to draft a pre-nup agreement for them, which they were expected to get by the next day.

“We can, of course, go over any clauses that might need pre-planning once we get the documents,” Magnus stated before gesturing the waiter for the bill. He offered to pay and Alec let him after a short dance of “I should”s.

Alec sat in his seat, and put his head on the table, long after Magnus left. Magnus was determined to treat it as what it was - a hostage situation for the Clave or the Warlock Council to take advantage of should the need arise. The only silver lining was that Magnus did not seem to expect sex out of this marriage either.

* * *

Magnus settled into his couch, a fresh drink in hand. Alexander saw their marriage as a punishment for his parents’ crimes. Once that was clear, Magnus’ own desire to make this _relationship_ work fizzled as well. Well, he had gotten away without opening up his heart to anyone for a century now, how much different could it be with a flatmate? With that thought in mind, Magnus pushed all thoughts of Alexander’s good looks and conjured himself another drink.

Magnus was still asleep on his couch when the pre-nuptial agreement dropped on his coffee table. A couple of hours later, Magnus groaned. This was worse than he had thought. So, Magnus did what he always did when he was upset. He drank. It was late evening when Catarina portalled to his place that woke him up, though she later wished she hadn’t.

“Cat this is ridiculous!” He cried out. Papers flew around the room as Magnus tried to find the clause he was looking for. “ _Clause 6.5: A magical barrier will be enforced on both parties to ensure the absence of any sexual intercourse outside the marriage._ He is so young, Catarina, and idealistic. Marrying a man he barely knows to save his parents. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m one of the villains in his head. What am I supposed to do?”

“Abstain, perhaps?” Catarina smirked.

“It’s too soon for jokes, my dear. And I am not sure how long I will need to. _Clause 81.1: Neither of the parties is at liberty to break the union before the marking of the completion of 10 years of the union. Clause 81.2: Any requests to break the union after the aforementioned period will be brought to a panel comprising of equal members from the Shadowhunters Clave and Warlock Council. The union may be broken if the panel agrees in majority that the reasons presented for the separation are reasonable._ ”

“Mags, a lot can happen in 10 years,” Catarina tried to calm him down. “Perhaps you two will start seeing eye to eye?”

“I don’t know Cat, I cannot see any good coming out of this,” he said as he rested his head on his friend’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you give him some time? He was also given the news as suddenly as you were, and he is, as you said, so young. Perhaps his negative view is temporary. Give him a chance to know you, at least before you make the decision to not let him in.” Magnus knew she was right but at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to let someone in.

* * *

Alec had been quiet since he came back from his meeting with Magnus. Izzy and Jace tried to get him to talk about it but he simply answered with “It went well. We discussed some stuff. I don’t know if we’ll meet again before the wedding.” Max had tried to engage him in a discussion about use of fire runes versus heat runes and while he offered more in this discussion than the ones about Magnus, it was clear he was far away in his head. He did, however, make it a point to stop Izzy when she decided to try and meet her future brother-in-law.

“Isabelle, you are not to engage with him at all until the wedding, is this clear? I do not want you or Jace or anyone else meddling with this.” His tone had been enough to stop Izzy. After that, he spent the rest of the day going over the agreement sent over by the Clave.

He cursed into the air as he read through some of the clauses. His silver lining was slowly erased as he continued to read. _Ten years_ , Alec gulped. This was going to be a long ten years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it looks like the Clave and Warlock Council like to screw with these guys almost as much as I do ;) 
> 
> As always, concrit is appreciated as much as declarations of love for the boys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus gets some help, sort of.

The remaining time flew by before Alec knew it. Izzy had taken care of all the wedding preparations. True to her word, she had not tried to contact Magnus and now, she put her hands on his shoulders as he almost had a panic attack. “Hey, breathe, slowly. You’re imagining the worse. It’ll be better than you think. Maybe you could treat the first few weeks as your dating period, you know.”

“Start with small things. Clary and I would write each other post-its when we first moved in together,” Jace added.

“I can’t believe I am taking tips for my love life from you and Clary but that’s actually not a bad idea,” Alec let out a hollow laugh. “I just - it’s just - what if - “ he could not bring himself to say it but his siblings understood.

“If he does, I will make sure he can never ever have sex again,” Jace said, going into combat mode. Alec smiled weakly as he motioned them to head out. “It’s time.”

Magnus was already at the altar when Alec took his place, Izzy and Jace behind him. He caught Clary giving him a thumbs up sign from where she sat but he decided to ignore it, choosing to look at his - at Magnus instead. The warlock was wearing a royal blue tuxedo with swirling patters in the same colour. The patterns mirrored those in gold over Alec’s white tuxedo. The warlock had gone for a toned down makeup, and his hair was styled up with a single blue highlight matching his jacket.

“You look quite handsome, Alexander,” he said politely, to which Alec responded with an equally polite compliment, a little less smoothly than Magnus, of course. The rest of the ceremony was a blur to Alec, until they were told to kiss.

Magnus held him at the waist and planted a short chaste kiss on his lips before letting go. “Not so bad, now was it?” He asked making Alec blush.

After the reception, Alec hugged his siblings before heading to his quarters at the Institute with Magnus. They grabbed his suitcase and then Magnus portalled them to his loft. Alec looked around at his new surroundings in surprise. Alec had imagined the place would look at a bachelor’s pad, based on what he had heard of Magnus so far. However, the living room was decorated in a classy fashion, white leather sofas over a dull red rug.

“That is the living room, as you can see. Up ahead is the kitchen, there is an office space and library in here,” Magnus pointed as he spoke. “My room is in there and right here is going to be your room. Whatever changes you want to make to the decor, please let me know. I wasn’t sure what you would like,” he spoke warmly. “Alexander, I understand that this is not a situation either of us willingly walked into, but perhaps we can avoid making it too difficult. I guess, what I mean is, please consider this as much your home as mine, and feel free to let me know if you need anything or make any changes you want.” With a small smile, Magnus headed into his room.

* * *

The next week passed without any contact between the two newlyweds. Alec would leave the loft while Magnus was still asleep and get back late at night. His siblings tried to talk to him about it but Alec evaded their questions, choosing to dive into work instead. Yelling out “It’s my marriage and I want you two to stay out of it” had helped as well, but not in the way Alec had hoped. Izzy, being Izzy, decided to give her brother’s relationship a little nudge. So, on pretence of a date, she headed out and knocked on Magnus and Alec’s door.

To say that Magnus was surprised to see her was an understatement. “Isabelle, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Clearly,” she said with a smile, gesturing to the warlock’s dressing robe around him and his unstyled hair. “I am happy to wait while you get ready.” She settled into the couch as if she was a regular visitor to the apartment.

“Did we have something planned? I am sorry I must have forgotten to put it on my calendar,” he said lightly, playing along, causing her to smile widely. She was already starting to like the guy.

“We do now, brother-in-law. We are going for a coffee.”

“Very well, give me a moment please,” Magnus smiled, though he still looked slightly confused. He went into his room and a few minutes later, he was ready in a deep red jacket over a white satin shirt coupled with beige pants.

“Shall we?” He extended his hand, making the Shadowhunter smile. Once she took her hand, he portalled them to a quiet coffee shop in Queens. Once they ordered, they sat silent for a moment before Izzy spoke up. Surprisingly, the silence was not awkward.

“My brother is a real catch,” she blurted after a while. “He’s just shy,” she added at Magnus’s raised eyebrow. “He’s always been the quiet one amongst us siblings. Angel knows someone had to be. Mum and dad would have ended up putting us into adoption otherwise, forget adopting Jace. In fact I’m sure Alec is why they Jace and I turned out alright.” She paused for a breath. “What I’s trying to tell you is Alec takes time to open up but - but once he does, he’s amazing.”

“I am sure he is, Isabelle but how can I expect him to open up when I don’t even see him all day? I am sure he would not appreciate if I start coming up to the Institute right away.”

Izzy nodded. “You are right about that. He would have a fit,” she giggled. “It might be fun to see.” She smirked, even as Magnus glared at her.

“I assume whisking him away to Paris might not be fruitful, either?”

Izzy laughed. “Is it too late for me to exchange places with him?” She winked before getting serious. “My brother sees the beauty in small things. Grand gestures will not go ignored but the way to winning his heart isthrough little, thoughtful gestures. Let him know you see _him._ ”

Magnus nodded thoughtfully. “So what do you think my next step should be? What does he like? Or perhaps loathe? That might be interesting to bond over.”

“You’ll have to find that out yourself, Magnus.” Izzy smirked. “If I tell you, he’ll know. That reminds me, do not mention this meeting to Alec, please. He will go crazy. He explicitly forbid me from _interfering_ ” 

Magnus laughed. “I am glad for your rebellious streak. I promise, I won’t tell.”

“It’s your call but perhaps you could start with becoming friends first? It’s - He - “ she trailed off.

“What is it?” Magnus asked with genuine concern. “Izzy, if there is something I can do, I would be happy to. While I understand that this marriage was not something Alexander or I asked for or expected, I would hate for it to continue being the burden that it was when we were told about it. I know it will not be easy, we are both from different worlds, but I want to at least make an effort to make this a happy marriage. So if there is something you can tell me that would help, please do.”

Izzy’s heart melted at Magnus’ words. She understood Alec’s concerns and fears but given the circumstances, she was glad to see the kind of man her brother had married. She knew Alec would be mad at her for what she was about to reveal but she decided it was for the best. She would leave Alec to share his entire story but there were definitely things Magnus needed to know before hand. “Well, Alec has always been a workaholic so he did not have much time for relationships. You - this marriage is his first romantic relationship, even if forced to be so.”

“But he’s had - uh - _encounters_ I’m sure, right?” Magnus asked, uncertainly.

“No - Magnus, your wedding kiss was my brother’s first kiss.”

Magnus was silent for a while as he took it in. Izzy stayed silent as well. It was after almost five minutes that Magnus spoke. “I can see the benefit of trying for friendship first.” He said softly. “I really don’t want to give him the wrong idea. I don’t want him to think that I am trying to woo him for sex,” he explained. “Given my reputation, I believe it would be easy to arrive at that conclusion.”

Izzy giggled playfully, hoping to cheer up the warlock. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to sing your praises when Alec is around.”

“We will have to _officially_ meet for that,” Magnus reminded her.

Izzy hummed her approval. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Well, it was a real pleasure meeting you, Izzy. Regardless of what happens between Alexander and I, I would love to see you again. Perhaps we could go have a spa day the next time.”

“I have a feeling you and I will get along splendidly, Mags,” she said as they got up and she kissed the man’s cheek.

She had barely walked out of the coffee shop that she got a call from Magnus. “What’s his favourite cuisine?” the man asked.

“Magnus, I just told you that you have to find that out yourself.”

“Yes, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I am calling his sister to find out what food he likes.”

“You’re a cheeky bastard, Magnus Bane,” Izzy laughed. “Vietnamese and Chinese. Chinese takeout is his usual comfort food. Other than that he is not picky about food at all.”

“You, my dear, are the best sister-in-law ever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, concrit is appreciated. Let me know if you have any ideas for Magnus to put in practice with Alec.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Lightwoods and Magnus fluff

Alec had just finished up his last meeting for the day and was wondering what to do to while away some time before it was time for him to head back. He was about to go to the training room when he received the text.

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 7:15pm]_

_Hi Alexander, a friend told me about this new Vietnamese place and I was planning on going to check it out. Would you be interested in joining me for a quick dinner?_

Alec almost replied with a yes when it hit him - was Magnus courting him? And with that thought, panic started to creep into him. _But it’s just a dinner_ , he reasoned. _And even if he does suggest something, I can refuse._ He could not go on avoiding any interactions with his _husband_ at all.

[ _To_ ** _Magnus Bane_** _at 7:28pm]_

_Sure, just text me the time and place._

Twenty minutes later, he was standing outside the restaurant, building up the courage to go inside. He hadn’t been standing long when a voice called him form behind.

“Ah Alexander, I hope you haven’t been waiting for too long?” Magnus said and opened the door for Alec. As soon as they were seated, both men engrossed themselves in the menus. However, once they had ordered, an awkward silence took over. A few minutes of fumbling later, Alec finally asked “Why are we here, Magnus?” as politely as he could.

Magnus blinked. He had obviously not been expecting that. “No small talk then, I guess,” he joked half-heartedly. “Alexander, we have been living together for a week now, and honestly neither of us has been on our best behaviour, considering. But we do have to live under the same roof for at least ten more years and I do not fancy making them a repeat of the last few days. I don’t have any huge expectations, I would like to see how things go between us before that, but I do hope that we can at least be friends. Hence, the dinner for us to get to know each other.”

Alec noted how Magnus did not rule out the possibility of them being romantically involved but also ensured that Alec knew that he would be fine without it as well. The shadowhunter wondered how true that was but he appreciated Magnus taking the first step and offered the warlock a smile. “I would like that.” Realising that Magnus expected him to start, Alec wracked his brain for topics. “How’s your work going?” He groaned internally as he asked - he couldn’t have picked a more boring question if he wanted. _Why do I care?_

“It’s alright. A few scuffles among the Warlocks but nothing major lately. I must commend you on your Shadow world cabinet meetings. Violence among clans is at an all time low. I have heard quite a few whispers of Downworlders appreciating the transparency and a platform to speak. Soon enough, they will be happy enough to speak out as well.” Alec blushed at the praise and mumbled something along the lines of combined effort. “How is Elias doing as the Warlock representative?”

“He’s good,” Alec replied. “A little held back at times, but I guess that’s expected given the strange nature of these councils.”

“Of course.” Magnus seemed to have realised that he would have to lead the conversation to get them on the right track since he started talking almost right away. “I have been meaning to ask you, what is your opinion on pets? I have two cats, Chairman Meow and Church. They are currently with one of my friends since I hadn’t had a chance to ask you if you are okay with pets.”

Once again, Alec was surprised by the thoughtfulness. “Oh of course, I love cats. But you don’t have to change your life to accommodate -“ _me_ , he thought. _“-_ this,” he gestured to the two of them.

Magnus sighed as he nodded but did not say anything to explain that. “I’ll speak with Catarina to have them over tomorrow. What about you? Any pets?”

“No,” Alec smiled. “My brother Jace had a dog when we were young. And Jace will never admit it, she always loved me more,” he grinned. “But as she grew, our parents thought it was unwise to have an animal running around the Institute so they had her sent away.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Alec waved it off. It was a long time ago. “So you and your siblings are quite close? Jace and Isabelle were unwilling to leave your side at all, at the wedding.”

Alec nodded as he smiled fondly. “Our parents were usually too involved in Clave business and we weren’t allowed to leave the Institute on our on. So, it was always just the three of us together for a long time. By the time Max was born, we were already old enough so he kind of became our kid, you know.” Alec could not believe he was telling Magnus about his siblings. But for some reason, it was easy to talk to the warlock _._ “Mom and dad were busy running the Institute. We didn’t have much responsibilities, other than our trainings. The debacle with the Circle had ended so there was no urgency. Jace had found out about movies from some mundane he had met and since then, we started having movie nights on Fridays. Jace would set up the movie, Izzy would make sure no one would bother us and I would cook us dinner. It started with PBJ sandwiches the first time and then, as I learned how to cook, they became my experimental mules,” he laughed. 

“Do I dare ask if they liked it?” Magnus teased.

“Well, so far they have not told me to stop, so I assume the do,” Alec smiled. “Anyhow Jace and Izzy cannot cook to save a life and Max, well, Max has just been pampered so much as the youngest so there’s no chance there.”

Magnus laughed. “Catarina and Ragnor - my closest friends - often pester me to learn cooking. They’ve invited me to enough cooking classes, ranging from _Italiano Autentico_ to Sinister Desserts. But I never ended up going.”

“You’ve known them for a long time?”

“For centuries, now. We’ve had quite a few adventures together. I got banned from Peru after a trip with these two,” Magnus reminisced.

“Banned? From an entire country?”

Magnus nodded as he took a bite. “I have the official order framed, hanging in the office if you don’t believe me.”

“How do you get banned from a _country_?” Alec was amused, to say the least.

“That, my dear, is still sort of a mystery to me. I mean there were quite a few incidents that took place but I am not sure _which one_ got me banned,” Magnus said, trying to keep a straight face, causing Alec to go into a fit of laughter. 

The rest of their dinner and the walk home passed by with more anecdotes and laughter. Alec could not recall the last time he had laughed so much. _It’s the alcohol,_ he told himself.

“I had a good time tonight, Alexander. I hope we can do this again.”

“Me too,” Alec smiled. “Have a good night, Magnus. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” The two headed to their rooms with smiles on their faces for the first time since their wedding.

* * *

 

The next morning, Alec woke up with a hangover. He groaned as he looked at his phone and realised he had slept in. He got himself dressed quickly and tried to see if there was any coffee in the kitchen. He found some instant coffee and decided that would have to do until he got to the Institute. He did not have time to spare to stop at the coffee shop today. Just as he put some water on the stove, he saw Magnus step out of his room as well. His hair was dishevelled and his face clear of makeup.

“Oh, Alexander, good morning.” Magnus looked as embarrassed to see Alec as the Shadowhunter was.

“Good morning. I was making coffee, would you like some?”

“That would be great. Thank you. I don’t recall drinking that much last night to warrant this hangover, though.”

Alec chuckled as he added another glass of water to the coffee. “Since you are taking care of coffee, let me get us breakfast. How do you feel about croissants?” 

“Uhm, you go ahead, I’m running a late for the Institute.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll portal you there. In fact, we can go ahead with that arrangement on a regular basis if you want - would save you quite a lot of time on commute.”

Alec smiled but did not comment on making it a habit. He instead chose to focus on the coffee. “Milk and sugar?”

“Yes please - a little milk and three spoons of sugar,” Magnus said. He saw Alec open the refrigerator for milk and sneakily made to conjure a carton of milk there. After that, breakfast was a relatively smoother experience, relatively being the key word.

“Magnus, these croissants are from a Manhattan bakery,” Alec stated.

“Yes,” Magnus looked slightly embarrassed. “I will make sure to put some money in their tip jar the next time I’m in Manhattan.” Alec laughed and shook his head but did not comment further.

“So tomorrow is Friday,” Magnus said.

“Yes,” Alec was confused by the statement.

“If you want to have Izzy and Jace over for movies, I would be happy to make myself scarce for the day,” Magnus smiled.

Alec was surprised that Magnus remembered it from last night and actually bothered enough to bring it up. So far, the Shadowhunter had been planning to skip the movie night altogether, like last week but if he was being honest, he knew he needed to spend some quality time with his siblings. He deliberated his answer - he did not want to end up spending the night at the Institute; Angel knew what issues that might cause with the Clave and Warlock Council but he also did not want to have Magnus leave his own apartment for his benefit. He was still in the middle of his thoughts when he heard his voice say “You should join us.”

“Are you sure? I mean I thought it was a Lightwood tradition.”

Alec groaned inwardly but replied with an awkward smile. “Yeah. Jace and Izzy would be happy to meet you, properly I mean.”

* * *

 

“How do you feel about Avengers?” Jace asked entering Alec’s office.

“Huh?”

“For the movie night? The latest Avengers movie?” Jace emphasised. “Please don’t tell me we are skipping this week as well. I have setup the TV in your old room already.”

“Uh, no, not skipping it. But - “ Alec paused, cursing himself for inviting Magnus without asking Jace or Izzy. “I kinda invited Magnus for it. I know it’s always been just us but he offered to leave the apartment if I wanted you guys over so I asked him to join us. I should have asked you guys but it was -“

“It’s absolutely fine, Alec. I mean he is technically a Lightwood now, right?” Jace smiled. “And it’s time that Iz and I get to meet him properly. I am yet to have the shovel talk with him,” Jace smirked and texted Izzy with the news asking her to come over.

“Jace,” Alec warned.

“Relax, brother. We won’t embarrass you,” his brother said, too sweetly to be serious.

“Are you and Magnus okay with Jace’s movie choice?” Alec cursed under his breath as Izzy joined Jace.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter because you are both disinvited.”

“Ooh so now you are ditching _us_ for movies with Magnus?”

Alec put his head in his hands. “Isn’t there a demon or something you can go kill?”

Both Izzy and Jace laughed but stopped their teasing. “I’ll ask Magnus to choose the movie,” Izzy suggested and placed a call before Alec could stop her.

“Hey Magnus, Izzy here, your _sister-in-law_ ,” she emphasised making Alec try to grab her phone. She slid away gracefully. 

“Alec told us you would be joining us for the movie night. Since this is your first time, I think you should choose the movie,” she said sweetly while making faces at Alec.

“Yes, that would be awesome. Jace was also leaning towards that. We’ll see you tonight then.” Izzy turned back to her brothers with a grin. “Avengers 3, it is. He hasn’t watched it yet though so no spoilers until the movie is done.”

“On to more important topics then,” Jace said. “What are you cooking tonight?”

“Oh shit,” Alec cursed, looking at his watch. “I totally forgot I need to do groceries for that. Tell me what you want.”

The siblings finally settled on Italian and Alec decided to leave a little early, heading to the grocery store. He made sure to get enough for tonight as well as for the next few days. After the last few days, Alec felt slightly more comfortable with running into Magnus and he was willing to brave that for a well-cooked meal.

Magnus was in the office when Alec arrived. He went straight to the kitchen but then suddenly realised that he had simply assumed Magnus would be okay with him cooking. So once he was done putting the groceries away, Alec went to Magnus.

“Magnus - I am sorry I kind of assumed - I should have asked you first but I forgot - I wanted to check in if you are okay with me cooking here,” he quickly babbled as he mentally berated himself for being childishly ineloquent.

“Of course! Alexander, you need not ask,” he said, getting up from his desk. “This is as much your home now, as it is mine. So please, feel free. Honestly, I am glad to have a home cooked meal. It has been a while.”

“Uh thanks,” Alec said. “But don’t be too happy before you taste it,” he tried to joke. It was then that Alec noticed two cats follow Magnus as the warlock walked upto him. He crouched to pet them. “And you must be Chairman Meow and Church.”

Magnus crouched next to the beaming Shadowhunter and introduced him to the cats who were already cuddling against Alec. “I am surprised they are being so _nice_. They don’t misbehave until prompted but usually they are slow in getting to like someone. You’re pretty special in their books.” Alec blushed furiously as he stood up and excused himself to go cook. Was Magnus flirting with him? Magnus offered to help but Alec told him he would manage as it was obvious Magnus had been busy with some work earlier. Alec quickly headed to the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's movie time!

****By the time Izzy and Jace arrived, Magnus set up the living room with a big enough leather couch, a huge screen, and a projector - currently playing a video of a violin orchestra. Alec had never been a fan of classical music, but whatever this was, sounded delightful. Magnus was lounging on the couch in his blue shirt and black jeans. His hair was styled up simply with a blue streak to match his shirt and we wore a thin black eyeliner. Chairman Meow and Church both were curled up next to him.

When Alec stepped out of his room, Izzy and Jace had joined Magnus on the couch. “Wine, Alexander?” Magnus asked.

“Uh, sure.” Alec sat down next to Jace as Magnus played the movie. Within a few minutes, Chairman jumped into his lap and made himself comfortable causing Magnus gave him a mock betrayed look. Alec grinned at him in return as he made a show of petting the cat.

“Hello there,” Jace whispered and stretched out his hand to pet Chairman’s head but received a screech and a scratch from his paw in return. Alec chuckled and calmed the cat down by scratching under his ears but Jace had already decided to stay away.

By the end of the movie, both Jace and Magnus were in tears while Alec blinked more than a few times to make sure he wasn’t. Izzy, on the other hand, was smiling as Magnus had their dinner flying up to them.

“How are you smiling after that!” Magnus asked her as he finally got over his initial reaction at the movie’s ending.

“She is heartless when it comes to movies,” Jace explained, digging into the risotto.

“Just because I am not bawling like you two. I don’t know what you guys are crying about anyways, they’re all going to be back in the next movie,” Izzy smirked. Jace turned to Alec for help but he held up his hands and laughed.

“But you didn’t even cry after Bambi!” Jace exclaimed.

“It was about animals, it wasn’t even human beings,” Izzy responded with equal fervour.

His siblings were quite prone to such childish arguments but Alec had not expected one tonight. He wondered if he should say somethingbut Magnus beat him with his comment about a recent case. “Elias mentioned something about the sudden increase in Shax demon population?”

“Yes,” Alec answered, glad for the change. “We’ve had at least four demons sighted in this week itself. I have asked the Downworld cabinet members to put out some feelers to see if anyone has a lead, especially Elias. So far, we haven’t received any information though.”

“Any idea who they are after?”

Alec shook his head. “They have been all over the city.”

Magnus was silent for a moment, trying to remember something. “If there is a next one, can your team try to catch it alive? I will ask Elias if he can go along to make it safer. It may be possible to find out who it is looking for if the demon is still alive. It may even be possible to track down the warlock who summoned it but I’ll have to research a bit about that.”

Before Alec could say something, Izzy answered. “Definitely. We’ll keep that in mind.But Magnus, would it be possible for you to accompany us instead?”

“Izzy, I am sure Magnus has a busy schedule and cannot be made available any random moment that the Shax demon decides to show up,” Alec said quickly. He did not want to ask Magnus for this obviously big favour. Additionally, he did not like the fact that Izzy’s eyes were twinkling as she asked Magnus. She definitely had something else in mind and Alec would feel more comfortable without being involved with it.

“No, no, I would be happy to help,” Mangus said with a smile, thanking Izzy internally. “Just give me a call whenever you get the alert,” he said to Alec who nodded in response.

“Enough work talk,” Jace declared. “Magnus, tell us about yourself. We only know what we’ve heard from the grapevine and to be honest, it’s - “ he trailed off as he saw Alec glaring at him. 

Magnus simply chuckled at the brothers. “It’s alright, Alexander. I am well aware of the information about myself that is floating around. But I get what you meant last night” Magnus said quite nicely, referring to Alec’s description of Jace at their dinner. “So what would you like to know, Jace?”

“Anything at all, really. For starters, how old are you?” Jace asked, saved from Alec’s glare since the older brother was trying to deflect as Izzy mouthed _last night?_ to him.

“Eight hundred and twenty-six, this year,” Magnus replied a bit cheekily. “And yet I don’t feel a day older than three hundred.”

“Wow,” Jace whistled. “How long have you lived in New York?”

“Well, I permanently moved here around thirty years ago. Before that, I used to visit every once in a while. I’ve always liked New York. It’s always had a charm that pulled me here.”

“I understand what you mean,” Izzy responded. “I could not imagine living elsewhere.”

“That’s because you have never lived elsewhere,” Jace commented playfully. The rest of the night passed baby quickly with similar banter between the three, with Alec’s inputs here and there (mostly glares towards Izzy and Jace). This was not unusual for the Lightwoods. Alec preferred to let his siblings be the lively ones while he enjoyed the warmth of their voices. He had always been the quiet one and he was no planning to change soon. _And yet you were willing to talk to Magnus all night yesterday_ , his subconscious prompted traitorously.

“It was a pleasure meeting you both, Izzy and Jace. I look forward to next week,” Magnus said graciously as the two got up to leave.

“Same here, Magnus,” Izzy said. Alec spotted a note of mischief in her voice but decided to ignore it. Knowing Izzy, she probably had a thousand playful plots going on in her mind right now. But Jace’s conversation with Magnus definitely demanded his attention.

“Yes, it’s been fun getting to know you, _brother-in-law._ Before we go, Iz and I want to get one thing cleared out. We didn’t get a chance to talk about it earlier, so I’ll say it now. If you hurt Alec, even a tiny bit, we’re coming after you. And trust me, you do not want to know some of the _techniques_ us Shadowhunters have acquired over time to deal with shitty warlocks,” Jace said with a straight face.

“Jace,” Alec gritted through his teeth but Magnus smiled.

“Point noted. I have no intention of causing any pain to your brother,” the warlock said soberly. “Unless of course, that is what _he_ likes,” he added with a wink, causing Alec to blush and turn away.

Once his siblings left, Alec started to clean up. “Have you forgotten you live with a warlock, Alexander,” Magnus drawled. “I just admit, of the various things I’ve been called over centuries, I’ve never received forgettable.”

Alec blushed again and Magnus decided this was one of the things he found quite adorable about the Shadowhunter. “No, no - I just - “ he stammered. Magnus cleaned up with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it, I’m just teasing,” the warlock assured Alec. 

 

* * *

Alec was happy with the way the evening had turned out. While he was still not entirely alright with being married to Magnus, the feeling of dread that he’d had since the news had been broken to him was now fading away. Alec was satisfied at that. 

He knew both Izzy and Jace would be full of questions, but decided they could wait a little longer. He got ready for bed and then texted on their group chat.

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:08am]_

_Did you guys reach the Institute?_

_[From_ **_Jace_ ** _at 1:09am]_

_Just did._

_How’s everything there after we left? I’m sorry if that last part was too much. I was mostly kidding - I hope I didn’t cause a problem._

Alec smiled at Jace’s concern. This was one of the reasons he had never been able to stay mad at Jace or Izzy. They themselves would seem so guilt-ridden that he would melt and forget his own displeasure.

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:10am]_

_You didn’t. Don’t worry about it._

_[From_ **_Izzy_ ** _at 1:10am]_

_What happened last night? :D_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:10am]_

_We went for dinner._

_[From_ **_Jace_ ** _at 1:11am]_

_And?_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:11am]_

_And what?_

_[From_ **_Izzy_ ** _at 1:12am]_

_What did you do over “dinner”?_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:12am]_

_Ate. That’s what people usually do at dinner_

_[From_ **_Izzy_ ** _at 1:12am]_

_Come on, Alec_

_[From_ **_Jace_ ** _at 1:12am]_

_I can practically see you smirking while typing that_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:13am]_

_We talked quite a bit. It was nice._

_[From_ **_Izzy_ ** _at 1:13am]_

_What did you talk about_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:14am]_

_What’s up with the Spanish Inquisition, Iz?_

_[From_ **_Izzy_ ** _at 1:14am]_

_Nothing. I’m just wondering why you didn’t tell us about it earlier_

_And why you are evading questions now_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:16am]_

_I’m sorry. It’s just that today I was a bit preoccupied panicking about having invited Magnus for movies that the dinner slipped my mind._

_Gist of the dinner was that we’ll both try to be friends and not be miserable._

_[From_ **_Jace_ ** _at 1:16am]_

_Hear, hear_

_Why does your cat hate me, btw_

_[To_ **_Izzy, Jace_ ** _at 1:17am]_

_He doesn’t hate you and he’s not MY cat_

_[From_ **_Jace_ ** _at 1:17am]_

_Definitely seems to like you better_

Alec decided not to indulge Jace in his childish arguments and typed a quick goodnight to his siblings.

* * *

_[From_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:32am]_

_So, last night? ;)_

Magnus chuckled as he read the text from Izzy once he was in bed. He should have expected it. 

_[To_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:55am]_

_Dinner. Get your mind out of the gutter._

_[From_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:56am]_

_Must have been a really fantastic dinner if that made him invite you for movie night. He almost threw a fit the first time Max joined us._

_[To_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:56am]_

_You’re exaggerating._

_[From_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:57am]_

_Well, he scowled._

_[To_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:57am]_

_Haha_  

_[To_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:58am]_

_Regardless, I’m not naive enough to think he has fallen for me over one dinner. He probably invited me because we talked about trying to be friends and I brought it up the next day. In fact, seems like he regretted it. He was extremely quiet._  

_[From_ **_Isabelle Lightwood_ ** _at 12:59am]_

_Alec has always been the quiet one. Don’t let that bother you._


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is pure Malec fluff

The next morning, Alec was ready at his usual time. Instead of going to the cafe again he decide to put his grocery shopping from the previous day to use. He made himself some French toast and coffee. Once he was done eating, he remembered Magnus commenting on how he liked having a home-cooked meal. He argued with himself for a few minutes but ultimately cooked up a second serving, covered the plate with cling wrap, put it in the microwave and put a sticky note on the refrigerator saying: “Breakfast in the microwave - A”. With that, he left the loft smiling.

Unfortunately for him, he was still smiling when he reached the Institute and greeted his siblings.

“This is a colossal change from your usual someone-drowned-my-pet expression,” Jace commented.

Izzy followed with “Did you comfort Magnus over the movie ending later at night?” and a wink.

“I, unlike you miscreants, have actual work to do, so I’ll be in my office doing it,” Alec mock growled. Responding with actual answers to Izzy and Jace’s comments could only result in further disaster.

“Is that what you and Magnus are calling it these days?” Jace asked playfully.

Alec groaned. “If I tell promise to you what happened over lunch, will you two get back to work?” He received an immediate yes from his siblings but he mentally cursed himself for what he had agreed to. “Now Jace, you need to lease with Luke and Raphael about their findings. Also request Luke to check for anything from Mundane police stations. Iz, traffic cams and 911 calls.”

Looking into the work of some other Shadowhunters and assigning the teams with work to do, Alec headed his office about an hour later. He was in the middle of some paperwork for the Clave when his phone chimed, alerting him to a text message.

[ _From **Magnus Bane** at 10:30am]  
__French toast was delicious. Thank you._

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 10:31am]  
_ _You’re welcome._

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 10:32am]  
_ _How’s your day going?_

Alec looked at the message for sometime as he debated his answer. _It’s just a text, dammit_ , he told himself. _You text Jace and Izzy, and Lydia._

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 10:34am]  
_ _It’s alright. Still waiting for any news on the Shax demons_

_[From_ ** _Magnus Bane_** _at 10:34am]  
__Oh yeah, I’ll speak with a few warlocks about it today_. _I’m sure someone must know something_

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 10:35am]  
_ _That will be great. Thanks a lot._

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 10:35am]  
_ _No worries, Alexander. I’ll see you later._

_Why did you have to talk about work,_ Alec chided himself. However, he did not have a lot of time to think about it due to a Dahak demon attack in the evening. By the time it was dealt with and he headed back to the loft, it was already past midnight. The next morning, he decided he deserved a late start. So when Magnus came out to the living room, he had just finished making breakfast.

“Morning,” he said with a smile, laying out plates filled with scrambled eggs for both of them, along with coffee - one with milk and horrendous amounts of sugar for Magnus and one black coffee for himself. He offhandedly remarked on how instant coffee tasted nothing like proper coffee and forgot about it almost as soon as he said it. However, that night, when Alec came back (late again) and headed to the kitchen to get some water, he found a brand new coffee machine, along with a set of premium beans, sitting on the counter. He could not help smile at the warmth he felt in his chest.

* * *

 

Magnus woke up to a text from Alec.

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 7:46am]_  
_Thank you for the coffee machine! It’s awesome.  
_ _There’s pancakes in the microwave. Sorry couldn’t make them fresh for you - got called in for an emergency_

He smiled. Just a few days in and Magnus had already started looking forward to breakfast every day. He frowned at the emergency part. Had their been another Shax demon attack?

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 9:52am]_  
_Don’t worry about it. It will taste fresh enough when heated with magic :)    
_ _What was the emergency? Everything fine?_

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 9:55am]  
_ _Yes. Well, mostly fine, except for the idiotic Shadowhunter who put the Institute on lockdown by mistake and could not figure out how to turn it off._

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 9:56am]  
_ _Need any help punishing him? I would be happy to oblige. He did keep me from fresh pancakes after all._

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 9:58am]  
_ _Haha. I thought you could magic them back?_

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 10:00am]  
_ _Yeah yeah._

With that, Magnus headed to the kitchen, to taste another of Alexander’s delicious creations. He added some strawberries and whipped cream on top of the pancakes and dug in. He texted Alec to let him know how heavenly the pancakes were and started with the day’s work. He had a fire message from Lorenzo Rey asking to set up a call. Knowing Lorenzo, it could be nothing pleasant. He responded to the message with a time for late evening so he could start drinking right after the call and proceeded to message a few of his friends regarding the Shax demon.

When Magnus came out to the living room, he was awarded by the sight of Church scratching one of his cushions while Chairman Meow was elegantly lounging on what looked like Alec’s jacket. He quickly took a photograph of Chairman and sent itto Alec.

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:39pm]  
_ _Looks like he already loves you more :’(_

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:39pm]  
_ _Tell him I’ll be back soon._

_[To_ ** _Alexander Lightwood_** _at 2:39pm]_  
_How soon?_  


_Desperate much?_ He chided himself and sent another text as an afterthought.

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:40pm]  
_ _To tell Chairman, I mean_

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:41pm]  
_ _7-ish, I think, if nothing major comes up_

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:42pm]  
_ _Great. You can then join Chairman and Church in the audience to my rant about Lorenzo Rey_

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:42pm]  
_ _Who’s that?_

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:43pm]  
_ _Only the most self-loving, soul-sucking, slimy warlock I know. And for some reason I am supposed to call him later this evening. Maybe I should skip the call. I could feign being dead_

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:42pm]  
_ _He couldn’t be THAT bad._

_[From_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:42pm]  
_ _Trust me Alexander, he is. The word cockalorum was coined for him._

_[To_ **_Alexander Lightwood_ ** _at 2:42pm]_  
_I am not sure I even want to google that word.    
_ _But whatever he is, YOU are the high warlock of Brooklyn. And I will get pick us some awesome Chinese food on the way back for the rant session_

Magnus could not stop smiling. Perhaps being married wasn’t as bad after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone order chinese with a side of Shax?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone for the late update. I got caught up with something IRL and was not able to sit down and write. This one's a short chapter but I am hoping to have a full length one posted by tomorrow.

When Alec got out of his shower, Magnus was off the call but still sitting in his office, simmering from the looks of it. The shadowhunter knocked on the open door and was greeted with a declaration - “I hate that man.”

“What did he want?” Alec asked, shaking his head and smiling.Magnus reminded him a little of Izzy when she had to deal with Clave ambassadors. While she would handle all business with utmost finesse and civility, once it was done, Alec and Jace always ended up listening to her detailed analysis of the flaws imbeciles the Clave sent (the consistent one being their mere existence) and the various things they could shove up their asses.

“To hold a formal warlock convention,” Magnus scowled.

“Let’s eat and you can tell me why that’s such a bad idea,” Alec chuckled. However, they had barely taken a sip of their first round of drinks when Alec’s phone rang. “I’m sorry. Just give me a moment?” he said apologetically.

“Hello. Izzy, is everything alright?”

“We have another sighting. Something that looks like a Shax demon is strolling around in Manhattan,” his sister replied.

“Send me the co-ordinates.”

“Magnus with you? He should come along.”

“Yeah, he is. We’ll be there.” He hung up and gave Magnus another apologetic look. “Shax demon. Raincheck on the rant?”

“No problem. I’m sure catching a demon will be rewarding enough,” Magnus smirked, placing his hand lightly under Alec’s to pull it towards himself as they read Izzy’s text with the location. Alec froze for a moment at the feather light touch and willed himself to take a deep breath.

“Do you know where this is?” He said, his voice sounding strained to his own ears. Magnus nodded as he pulled away to open a portal.

“This will take us a block from the location,” he informed the Shadowhunter as he stretched out his hand for Alec to take. Alec paused for a moment but then shook his head. _Just stop thinking. Focus on the demon_ , he told himself.

“I need to get my - “ His bow and quiver full of arrows came zooming to him before he could complete the sentence. Smiling, he took Magnus’ hand.

Upon Magnus’ directions, Alec distracted the demon by firing arrow after arrow at its limbs, making sure he did not make a killing shot while Magnus tries to get closer to it.A few minutes later they were joined by the west of the shadowhunter team, who Alec instructed to aim to hurt, not kill.

“Are you crazy!” Alec yelled at Raj as his knife flew too close to Magnus’ arm for his comfort. He rushed towards Magnus to make sure he was okay. “You alright?”

“I’m fine. You shouldn’t be here in the crossfire,” he said, as he shot a quick burst of energy towards the Shax demon. “We’re close enough, though. Your team can stop.”

Nodding, Alec gave the team the signal to stop. There was no point in keeping evryonr in the danger zone. He himself grabbed a seraph blade from the nearest Shadowhunter. “Who is the idiot who tried to kill me, by the way,” Magnus asked, in between a series of spells. A pale blue mist formed between his hands as he moved them around, creating an airflow towards the mist causing it to grow. “So that I can return the favour later.”

“That’s Raj,” Alec replied, in a tone that seemed to have the same amount of spite as the blow he dealt to the demon’s arm. “Don’t worry about him though. He will be dealt with _properly_.”

“Seems like he is your Lorenzo Rey.” Magnus pushed the mist towards the demon. The mist only served to enrage the demon further, making it lash out at the two of them.

“Yeah, I guess. What _did_ the guy want from you anyways?” Alec asked dealing another blow to the now manic demon while Magnus threw a ball of blue fire towards another limb that came close to Alec.

“He’s holding a warlock convention . That’s how Lorenzo operates - shows off his care for the community and charms everyone.” Magnus pushed his hands further towards the demon, causing the mist to thicken. “And I am expected to make an appearance.”

“Do you really have to?” Alec finally succeeded in cutting off one of its limbs.

“Would help with my political standing. I am not exactly popular right now.” Magnus pushed in more of his energy and mist intensified around the demon. It started to slow down as a result of the injury and the magic surrounding it.

“And why is - RAJ BACK OFF,” he yelled as he saw the other Shadowhunter cross him along with another shadowhunter to hit the demon’s pincers.

“Because you and your husband are doing such a fine job?” Raj sneered. Alec did not have the chance to respond before the Shax’s pincers attacked Raj’s waist.

“Get him away, take another person with you and get him back to the Institute,” Alec ordered the other Shadowhunter who had come along with Raj. It was another few minutes until Magnus was able to finally subdue the demon. The warlock stumbled back and Alec put an arm around his waist to support him. After the fight they’d had, Magnus’s weight against his body felt reassuring.


	9. Chapter 9

“What can we do to help?” Alec asked as he helped Magnus on the bed. He and Jace had helped the warlock to one of the quarters at the Institute while Izzy and Clary were helping Raj with his wound. “Coffee? Food?”

 

“I’m fine, Alexander,” Magnus replied, taking a sip from the glass of water that Alec had given him. “Just tired. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”

 

Before Alec could reply, Izzy burst into the room reporting on Raj’s critical condition. The medical team was with him but they did not seem to be making any progress.

 

“I can heal him,” Magnus said, getting up from the bed. Alec tried to hold him down but the warlock refused. “I may be able to save him, Alexander, please.”

 

“And die yourself in the process? No, Magnus.”

 

“I will be fine, and I can always leech energy off of one of you guys if I need it.” Magnus chuckled.

 

“There is no other way, Alec,” Izzy chimed in. In the end, Alec agreed as long as Magnus took care of himself during the spell as well and helped the warlock up.

 

Magnus started to resist the assistance but was instantly glad for it when he felt a sudden hit of dizziness. Thankfully, he made it to the infirmary without any further incidents. Saving Raj, however, was not as easy. Magnus could feel all his strength flow away as he tried to find Raj’s life force. He was on the verge of collapse when a strong arm came to rest around his shoulders and a hand gripped his own hand. “Take all the strength you need,” Alec whispered next to him. Magnus wanted to tell him he had been joking but he was too exhausted to form the words. So he did as asked and started to absorb Alec’s energy. He felt a strange jolt as the flow started and Alec’s power flow into his body. He basked in the warmth and comfort of it for a few moments before turning his focus back to Raj. He pushed all his force onto Raj, casting a warming spell and then various healing ones. He didn’t know how long he continued this until his legs finally gave in. He tumbled, his fall only broken by Alec. The Shadowhunter held him close against his shoulder and supported his back against his thigh. “Magnus?” The concern in Alec’s voice pushed him to respond but he was too weak to form words, so he just nodded and squeezed the hand he was still holding. He figured out from the voices that Raj had woken up. Alec was now helping him onto another bed nearby, with Jace’s help he assumed since he could feel and extra pair of arms hold him.

 

Alec came to ask him if he would prefer to stay at the Institute - Alec’s old quarters were still vacant - or go back to the loft. “Home,” he said. He was feeling slightly better now. “Got takeout waiting, and alcohol. Let me portal us there.”

 

Alec glared at him. “No. You are not using any magic tonight. I’m getting a cab.” His tone left no room for argument. Soon, they were both sitting in their living room. Alec made them drinks and then reheated the food.

 

“Do you think you’ll be able to go back with me tomorrow morning to find out who the demon was looking for?” Alec asked.

 

“Of course. We could go back now, if you want.” Magnus knew Alec had been waiting to close this issue for many days now.

 

“I said no magic tonight and I meant it. We’ll go tomorrow after breakfast, _if_ you feel fine.” The warlock felt a warmth through his chest at the words. Was he really falling for Alec now? He had closed himself off for centuries, his heart worn-out from the heartbreaks and losses. However, there was something about Alec that made him _want_ to let the man inside. The thought alone frightened Magnus but what was even more terrifying was that he knew Alec had already started breaking the walls, brick by brick.

 

“Everything okay?” Alec’s question made Magnus realised that he had been staring at the wall.

 

Magnus nodded politely.“Yes, it’s just been quite a day.”

 

“Yeah. Er - Thank you for your help today. With the demon and with Raj.”

 

“I couldn’t let you go charging in there, all alone now, could I?” Magnus chuckled weakly. He wasn’t used to being thanked. Usually, all he got was variations of “Magnus, you got demon blood on my new carpet”.“How is Raj, by the way?”

 

“He’ll live,” Alec responded, slightly sharply making Magnus laugh.

 

“We make a pretty good team.” Magnus was sure this was the alcohol talking, and he let it.

 

“We do.” Alec smiled, with a hint of pride in his eyes. At least that’s what Magnus was going to assume it was.

* * *

Alec had been surprised to hear Magnus suggest healing Raj with magic. The warlock had been barely conscious himself. Alec had never taken Magnus to be the cruel type but this level of altruism still had been unexpected. In the past week, Alec had seen enough of the warlock to clear away his initial reticence, yesterday’s events had forged a higher respect for Magnus in his heart.

 

“Good morning.” Alec smiled as Magnus came into view. While it had taken Alec a while to admit it, he liked seeing the warlock in the mornings, before he had gotten dressed. His hair would be unstyled, often falling over his forehead and his face devoid of any makeup. He liked being the only one that got to see this side of Magnus.

 

“Morning. This smells heavenly.” Upon Alec’s indication, he took a chair at the dining table and allowed himself to be served an omelette and coffee. Finishing up another one for himself, Alec joined him at the table.

 

“Feeling better?” he asked between bites.

 

“Good as new. Ready to talk to a demon?”

 

“Are you sure? We can wait if you feel tired or something?” While Magnus looked fine enough, Alec was still unsure of letting him perform heavy magic. However, Magnus was having none of it. He rolled his eyes and declared that he would rather get this entire episode over with.

 

“Plus, I would like to tell Raj what a fine job you and your husband did yesterday,” Magnus winked making Alec laugh.

 

“Fine but we’ll take a cab to the Institute. No point using magic unless you absolutely have to,” Alec reasoned, only to be shut down again.

 

“Alexander, I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I promise you I’m completely alright. If I do feel tired, or unwell, I will refrain from using more magic and I will let you know.,” Magnus said sincerely.

 

“Like you did yesterday?” the Shadowhunter responded sourly.

 

Magnus lowered his head. “It needed to be done. You know that.” Alec nodded but did not respond.

 

Once at the Institute, they headed to the lower levels where the Shax demon was being held. It’s legs were chained to the walls and it was still unconscious from Magnus’ spell - according to the warlock, it would stay so for months unless the spell was reversed.

 

Izzy, Jace, Clary and two other Shadowhunters stood guard with Alec while Magnus woke it up.

 

“ _Surgit. Surge igitur et pars huius mundi._ ” The demon struggled against the chains as it regained consciousness.

 

“ _Ego mandavi tibi ut loquaris. Dicam in lingua hominibus,_ ” Magnus continued. “Tell me who you were sent for”

 

A harsh voice came from the demon. “Magnus Bane”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magnus' spells translate to:  
> 1\. Surgit. Surge igitur et pars huius mundi: Awake. Arise and be a part of this world  
> 2\. Ego mandavi tibi ut loquaris. Dicam in lingua hominibus: I command you to speak to me. Speak in the language of humans
> 
> Hope you guys liked this chapter. Any thoughts on who could want to hurt Magnus?


	10. Chapter 10

“Any idea who might be behind this?” Jace asked as they all sat in the main area of the Institute discussing the Shax demon’s proclamation.

Magnus shook his head. The demon’s answer had come as a surprise and was unsettling at the very least. “Shax are usually used to retrieve mundanes. It is strange for a warlock to be targeted. For someone with enough power, sending such a demon back to hell is as easy as a snap of the fingers, as you just saw. Hence, whoever it is, either they do not know the extent of my power or they are using it as a distraction for something else.”

“Did you guys also notice that these Shax demons were harder to kill,” Alec said. “Without magic, that is.”

“I agree. Shax are strong but not _that_ strong,” said Izzy.

“Theoretically, it is possible to alter a demon to imbibe more power into them. But not many warlocks would have the power to do that.” Magnus started to make a mental list of the warlocks who would. As he explained to the team, the most likely possibilities were older warlocks, especially those with Greater Demons as their parent. However, since it was not possible to know the parentage of a warlock without the warlock themselves revealing it, they could are not able to do much with the information.

When they reached a dead end with the research, Izzy suggested Alec and Magnus head back to continue their much needed rest, while the others would take care of the Institute. The two complied, though not without some stern staring from Izzy and Jace’s revelation of being able to feel Alec’s exhaustion through their _parabatai_ bond.

* * *

“At least the convention will now be of some use to me. Having all these warlocks in one place will make it easier to find out who could be trying to abduct me,” Magnus said during lunch.

“You can’t be thinking of going to the convention after this,” Alec exclaimed. “It’s too dangerous, Magnus.”

“Alexander, I can’t not go. Moreover, I don’t believe they would try something in public. If they wanted to be known, they wouldn’t have sent the Shax demons in their stead.”

“But why do you have to go? You yourself said you don’t want to,” asked Alec.

“No, I don’t want to but I do need to. Not making an appearance would seem like a slight to the warlock council and my position in the council is precarious currently.” Magnus hated the situation but at the moment, he could stand to lose his title as the High Warlock and that gave him some extra motivation to go socialise with the likes of Lorenzo Rey and Boris Übel, the High Warlock of Berlin.

“You mentioned that before - when we met before the wedding. Can I ask why?” Alec had finished eating and now was looking at Magnus expectantly.

“Well, they don’t take me interfering in other Downworlder affairs very well, or Shadowhunter affairs for that matter.” He told Alec about taking in Raphael when he was turned, guiding him through his ascent in the clan,and working with Will, Jem and Tessa. “The latest and worst, I believe, is the unplottable Sanctuaries Catarina and I created for warlocks. We found out that a group of older warlocks were raising children to be some sort of warriors. They would orphan these children - either kill the people raising them or sometimes telll them of the child’s demonic heritage and make them disown the child. Then they would act like the rescuer, take these children under their wing and have them commit atrocities. Once the children were old enough to realise their wrong-doings, they would be in so deep that the warlock could keep them through blackmail even if they wanted to leave. So when Cat and I came across some of these children, we created a place for them to stay at. We have expanded into some ten centres now across the country. Only a chosen few know of the locations because we could not wholly identify the group involved in the activities. But the council believes it gives us - _me_ \- enough power to overthrow them all should I ever want to. Hence, they would like nothing more than to see me fall.”

Alec’s eyes were full of an emotion Magnus could not quite make out. The closest he could think of was pride. “ _I_ think what you are doing is wonderful. But this just means that the likelihood of the warlock who wants to hurt you being in the council is high.” Alec paused for a moment, thinking carefully before his next words. “Magnus, for the sake of your own safety, please reconsider this.”

Magnus took a deep breath. “The convention is for five days. I will go their, attend a few meetings and be back by the third day instead of staying the whole time. Is that an acceptable compromise?”

Alec nodded. “And you will always be with someone you trust and not go about wandering alone?”

“Yes.” Magnus laughed.

* * *

“Hi, I am looking for Catarina Loss?” Alec asked the receptionist at the hospital who responded by pointing her finger behind him. “Catarina, hi, I’m Alec. Magnus’ husband - we met briefly at the wedding,” he quickly said as he turned around and saw the woman he was looking for.

“Yes, of course, nice to see you again, Alec.” Catarina smiled at him as she ushered him into a conference room nearby.

“I’m sorry to barge in at your work,” he said apologetically.

“Not a problem. Is Mags okay?”

“Yes, Magnus is absolutely fine. I didn’t know how else to contact you and Magnus had mentioned you work here,” Ale explained. “I wanted to invite you for dinner - you, Ragnor and Raphael.”

“Forgive me for asking, but why?” Catarina looked at him strangely. Alec felt as if he was being X-rayed.

“I think it’s time that I met Magnus’ family. Don’t you?” The smile he got from Catarina in return was worth the earlier discomfort. He only hoped Magnus would be equally happy about it.  
While not as easy to talk to as Magnus, Catarina was an amiable woman, and a talkative one once she decided she liked you. At least, Alec thought she was starting to like him. They decided to meet the coming Saturday, Catarina assuring Alec she would invite Magnus’ other two friends as well.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I am sorry about the unexpected delay in posting. But I have an extra long chapter for you in the way of apology, haha.

Alec was surprised to see that Magnus was in his office when he reached the loft. For the past few days, it had become routine for them to have dinner together, whether they went out or ordered in, except for last night when they had Izzy and Jace over for movies and Alec cooked. Alec left a quick text to Magnus asking about his whereabouts, took a quick shower and started to prepare for the dinner. He wondered if he should have informed Magnus about inviting Catarina and the others beforehand, in case he had other plans. He got his answer in Magnus’ text.

 _[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 7:18pm]  
_ _Out for some work. Will be back soon. Want me to pick up something on the way?_  

 _[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 7:18pm]  
_ _No I got it. See you._  

“Doesn’t this seem a bit too much for the two of us?” asked Magnus as he saw Alec lay out the food on the table, which in itself was on regular. He usually just put food into the plates directly in the kitchen rather than bringing in too many dishes to the table.

“Uhm - We are having guests over.”

“And who might these guests be?” Magnus raised an eyebrow.

“Your friends.” Alec searched Magnus’ face for his reaction. He need not have worried because he was met with a huge smile. Glad, Alec started to recount his conversation with Catarina but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Alec ushered the three guests in and guided them to the living room. “Raphael,” the youngest looking of the three introduced himself. “Sorry I couldn’t be at the wedding but Shadowhunter traditions don’t really give much consideration to vampire needs.” Alec chuckled when he saw Magnus shoot Raphael a murderous glare, not unlike the ones he himself had given his siblings the first time they had visited the loft. Who was he kidding, every second thing his siblings said to Magnus still deserved the glare.

“I’ll bring it up to the Clave on a priority basis, right along with adding A positive and B Negative to the menu,” Alec replied with a straight face making the others burst into laughter.

“Ragnor and l, for one, have no complains about the wedding,” Catarina said as they all sat down, drinks in hand thanks to Magnus.

“Speak for yourself, woman,” Ragnor corrected her. “I am never attending a Shadowhunter wedding again. Too long and archaic.”

“Says the man who refuses to keep a cellphone,” Magnus quipped. Alec relaxed himself next to Magnus. The conversation flowed as easily as it did when Jace and Izzy came over. The only difference was that Alec was expected to contribute a little more but he didn’t mind it too much, especially because Catarina would subtly loop him in conversation every once in a while, whenever needed.

It was Raphael’s attempt to talk to him that took him aback. “So, Alec, is Magnus Bane everything you hoped for in a husband?”

“And more,” Alec responded sincerely while Magnus again glared to Raphael. He shrugged with a smile as Magnus gave him a quick apologetic look unnoticed by the vampire. His own siblings had been teasing them quite a bit lately so he could hardly resent Raphael’s comment. In fact, the answer was pretty honest, Alec thought. Magnus had been more supportive and understanding than he had ever hoped for and he was definitely glad for the relationship they were developing.

“The food is amazing, Alec,” Catarina spoke quickly just as Raphael was about to say something else. Alec gave her a grateful smile.

“I agree. We have tried to take Mags to multiple cooking classes over the years, with the hopes that he will stop eating all the takeout junk but all in vain. Perhaps you will have a better luck teaching him,” Ragnor added.

Catarina, Alec noticed, controlled quite a bit of their discussions, mainly guiding them away from certain topics for which he was thankful. Ragnor pretended not to care too much about anything or anyone but knowing him through Magnus’ conversations (and even his brief conversation with Catarina earlier), Alec was able to make out the subtle clues in the warlock words that showed how much he cared for his friends. In fact, both Catarina and Ragnor seemed to be looking out for Magnus and were quite protective of him. The fact that these two would be there at the warlock convention as well did slightly decrease Alec’s anxiety about Magnus’ safety. Raphael and Magnus, on the other hand, was a completely reversed dynamic. The vampire seemed to hold an exalted opinion of Magnus and often looked at him during conversation, as if looking for cues to respond. Magnus, too, seemed to let Raphael get away with a lot more than he would allow anyone else. The warlock almost seemed like a parent to Raphael.

“I am sorry about Raphael,” Magnus said to him once his friends had left. “I haven’t exactly told him the truth about our, well, our situation. I - “ 

“You don’t have to explain.” Alec smiled. Given the relationship he had just witnessed between the two, Alec was sure Magnus would not want Raphael to see the _not-so-pretty_ parts of this life. “It’s your call and I can understand not wanting to share - uh - all the details.”

“Thank you,” Magnus said softly. “For understanding but also for, in fact mostly for inviting my friends over.”

“My brother and sister end up here every week. I think it’s only fair,” Alec said matter-of-factly but inside, he could feel his heart beat a little faster.

* * *

“Who are you texting?” Izzy asked, as she saw Alec smiling. He was sitting with his siblings, discussingJace’s recent meeting with Clary’s mother.

“Magnus.”

“He likes you,” Izzy said softly before Alec could say anything. “He also seems like a nice guy.”

“I know Iz. And - and I think I like him too,“ Alec almost whispered. “I can’t explain it, every time we talk, every time he’s near, I - “

“You what?” Jace teased.

“It’s as if I can’t breathe, I get nervous, I scold myself for saying something silly.” Alec smiled as he blushed. His siblings had not seen that smile for years.

“Then why not let _Magnus_ know all this?” Izzy suggested.

“I don’t know if I can,” he sighed. “I’m so very scared of what it would lead to,” he trailed off.

“How about you let him know your concerns as well?”

“It’s not that simple.” More than anything, Alec was scared of Magnus’ reaction. He did not expect Izzy or Jace to understand - both of them had been involved in some relationship or another since their mid-teens.

“He’ll understand, Alec. If he doesn’t, he’ll make an effort to. You must know that by now. We have seen him around you.”

Alec nodded but did not respond.

* * *

“Alexander, you’re cooking,” Magnus said in surprise when he portalled in. “Any special reason?”

“Do I need one?” Alec asked, cocking his head to a side, leaving Magnus speechless.

“Can I help?” Magnus asked after a few moments, instead of responding directly. Alec handed him a knife, a chopping board and some carrots in response. “I know a quicker way,” Magnus said and with a swipe of his hand, the chipping was done.

It had been a long time since Alec had been this nervous. He was in the kitchen, _with Magnus_ , cooking dinner for the both of them while Chairman tried to attach himself to Alec’s leg and Church lay in a corner, watching the scene. The Shadowhunter had to admit that Magnus’ use of magic to chop and peel vegetables and boil water saved a tremendous amount of time but he refused to allow the warlock to use magic for anything other than the prep.

“What’s the point of having someone cook you a meal if you’re just going to magic everything onto a plate,” he had grumbled. Magnus had put his hands up in surrender and smiled. He poured both of them some wine instead.

Every once in a while, Magnus would stop what he was doing to look at Alec. The Shadowhunter would be deep in concentration, biting slightly on his lower lip, his eyes twinkling. Alec would then notice Magnus’ stare, bow his head and blush furiously.

“Would you stop,” Alec whispered, after a few times. Magnus was about to apologise but then he saw Alec’s expression. There was no anger or irritation, as Magnus had feared. Instead, Alec’s face an epitome of innocence and shyness. He was still blushing, his head was bowed down slightly and he could see the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Why?” Magnus dared to ask, restraining himself from closing the space between himself and Alec right then. 

“You’re distracting me,” Alec answered, sounding slightly more confident than his last few words but he still adamantly looking away from Magnus. “Don’t blame me if your chicken is burnt,” he teased, a small smile appearing on his face.

 _And I would eat the burnt chicken without complain, if I could do that while looking at you_. Magnus shook his head vigourously. He did not dare be too forward with Alec, not when they were finally moving ahead. “I’ll take my chances,” he said making Alec blush even further. But he did leave the Shadowhunter alone for a while after he topped their glasses with more wine. The dinner went on smoothly without much further innuendo. To Magnus’ surprise, Alec suggested following it with a nightcap.

“Everything ready for tomorrow?” Alec asked. Magnus was supposed to leave for Spain the next morning, for the warlock convention and Alec was still not entirely sure this was a good idea.

Magnus nodded. “The convention team will open up a portal here at 8.”

“I could go with you,” Alec suggested. “It - Are spouses invited?” He was aware he was blushing but Magnus’ safety was the more important issue right now.

“I don’t think that would be such a great idea. While the council has had agreements with the Clave, not everyone in the warlock community is very fond of Shadowhunters. I can’t risk your safety as well, by taking you there. Moreover, if there were an incident, it would destroy the peace that you have worked so hard to establish.” Magnus shifted a little closer to Alec and put a hand on his arm tentatively. “Trust me, I’ll be fine.”

Alec nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He could not think about anything other than the warmth emanating from Magnus’s hand into his arm. He felt the alcohol hit his brain. The warlock looked gorgeous in the dim light. His dark blue eyeliner drew attention to his eyes that all but sparkled, they were the most beautiful eyes Alec had seen. He was mesmerised by the way golden danced through the brown of his eyes. Before he could hold himself back, his lips brushed against Magnus’, his fingers were running through Magnus’ hair, supporting the back of his head. Magnus, taken by surprise, gasped before putting his arms around Alec’s waist. That gasp was all Alec needed to swipe his tongue against the roof of the warlock’s mouth, exploring the new territory. However, it’s scrutiny was cut off by Magnus pulling away.

“Alexander,” he whispered, searching Alec’s eyes to be sure this was what he wanted. A moment later, he almost hated himself for it. The interruption brought Alec back to his senses. He looked at his hands, still holding the back of Magnus’ head and pulled back suddenly.

“I am sorry, I am so sorry Magnus,” he whispered before running towards his room, leaving a confused warlock in his stead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned in one of the comments earlier, I will be taking part in the NaNoWriMo challenge this year. So, I may not have enough time to post daily chapters as before. However, I will be working on a schedule so that I post a new chapter here on a weekly basis.  
> A big thanks again to all the kudos and comments. It has been the great response to this fic that encouraged me to take on the challenge so I am grateful to all the support :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus leaves for the convention and Alec has a sense of foreboding

Alec groaned as he woke up. The events from last night felt like a bad dream. He looked at his phone - 6:30am. He tried going back to sleep but thoughts of how badly he had screwed up kept plaguing his mind. He could not believe he had been stupid enough to mess things up so much just because he could not control himself. He was terrified of facing Magnus. The warlock probably thought Alec regretted kissing him. How could he explain everything that he himself was yet to come to terms with? He shook his head when he started to imagine all of Magnus’ possible reactions. He would go crazy he allowed his thoughts to run astray like this. So he decided to go for a short run and then wait for Magnus. He would talk to him before he left for Spain and fix things, before it got worse.

By the time he got back to the loft, Magnus was ready and sitting on the couch. He checked his phone - it was almost 8 already. “Magnus, I am sorry - I went for a run,” Alec all but spluttered. “I thought I would be back in time - talk before you left - I am so sorry about last night - I - “

“Alexander, relax,” Magnus said, getting up to greet him. He came and stood close to Alec but maintained a respectful distance. Alec’s felt a tug at his heart to see it but he knew it was his own fault. “You don’t need to apologise for anything.” Alec wasn’t sure if it was his familiarity with the warlock or his own longing that made him detect the hint of sadness in his voice.

“But I do, Magnus. I wish we had more time and I could tell you everything but before you go, I need you to know - I -.” The portal opened up next to the balcony door but Magnus did not avert his eyes from Alec. The Shadowhunter took a deep breath. “Magnus, I promise I will explain everything once you are back. I am aware my actions last night were inexcusable but I hope I haven’t messed things up between us irreparably. Please - ” With that, he tentatively took Magnus’s hand and squeezed it.

“Of course not, dear,” Magnus responded with a slightly forced smile, but squeezed his hand in return. “I am afraid I can’t stay back right now, I wish I could. We’ll talk when I’m back. I’ll try and return by tomorrow night or the morning day after that.” He looked at Alec longingly before turning towards the portal.

“Stay safe,” Alec said softly as Magnus departed.

* * *

 

“Can you be bothered to use your brains?” Alec yelled at one of the Shadowhunters who had been trying to process the surveillance footage sent to them by Luke Graymark and was failing miserably at trying to zoom in on the details Alec wanted to see. The shadowhunter whimpered in response. “Figure it out and show it to Isabelle after,” Alec grunted and headed upstairs.

“You’re being incredibly touchy today,” came his sister’s voice behind him as he entered his office. “Almost bit Bree’s head off down there.”

“I wouldn’t have to if people just did what they were supposed to.” He sat down and focussed on his paperwork, deliberately not looking at Izzy.

“Alec, is everything alright?” Izzy came and stood next to him, her hand on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath. “No, not really. But I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

Izzy nodded silently and hugged her brother. Once she left, Alec sat wondering if he should call Magnus. After a few minutes of mental debates, he texted Magnus asking how the convention was going. It was almost an hour until he received the response.

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 11:52am]  
_ _Awful - as expected. How are things at your end?_

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 11:54am]  
_ _Not too bad. Not much going on._

Alec wondered if he should ask Magnus about the events of last night but decided against it. It was not a conversation for text. Magnus would be back in 3 days and they would talk then.

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 11:55am]_

_Is Ragnor with you?    
_ _Everything seem okay there?_

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 11:55am]  
_ _Yes, you needn’t worry Alexander. Ragnor has not left me since I arrived here. Things are rarely okay with these many warlocks in close proximity of course, but there is nothing to be alarmed about._

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 11:56am]  
_ _Take care._

Alec was thankfully distracted by Bree - the Shadowhunter he had yelled at earlier. Going through the footage, she had found someone that looked eerily like the Seelie queen. Upon further investigation, it turned out to be nothing major but Alec did not get a chance to text Magnus again until he left the Institute around 7.

_[To_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 7:12pm]  
_ _Just checking in. Still hanging in there?_

_[From_ **_Magnus Bane_ ** _at 7:13pm]  
_ _Yes, love though I miss you terribly._

Alec looked at the sender’s name twice. With anyone else, he might have blamed it on the possibility of alcohol but Magnus could probably outdrink Vikings. He was about to call Magnus when he received a call from Ragnor.

“Hello Alec, is Magnus with you? He’s not picking up his phone,” came the voice from the other end.

“No! Why would he be with me? He’s not supposed to be back until day after.” Alec could feel the panic rising inside him.

“He texted me that he was heading back to New York. A very odd message, I must say, even for Magnus.”

“Fuck. I think he’s in danger, Ragnor. I texted him and received a very strange reply as well.”

“Hold on, Cat and I will be there at your loft right away.”

“Come to the Institute, I’m closer to there,” he told the warlock as he ran back towards the Shadowhunter Institute, willing himself to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for leaving it at another cliff but I promise things are going to start looking up soon.Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments and kudos :)


	13. Chapter 13

****When Magnus regained consciousness, he was lying on what felt like a stone slab. His body was being held in place by magic and the most he could move was turn his neck. He was in a dark hall, probably in a dungeon somewhere. The slab he was lying on was in the centre of the room. The smell of algae wafted through and the dampness of the room made him shiver.He was not sure how much time had passed by since he had been kidnapped. All he could recall was waking up again and again, only to be met with pain - it was needles piercing through his chest once, flames running over his body another. Every muscle in his body ached. He felt a presence behind his head but could not turn enough to properly discern the identity of the person. He braced himself for another bout of pain.

“I see you are awake, again” the voice moved towards him.

“Boris?” Magnus let out a surprised sound. “What the hell are you playing at?”

“Magnus Bane, you have taunted me for so long, but no more. I am one ritual away from being his favourite.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Asmodeus, but of course, our father.” Boris’scruel laughter echoed through the dank room. “You were always the prized son while I was discarded like a commoner. Even when I would go to him to show my gratitude or ask for advice, I would be met with his praises of _his son Magnus_. _I_ am the one who follows his very command, _I_ am the one who looks for ways to expand his reign, _I_ am the one who tried to save him when you, _Magnus Bane_ , banished him to Edom. And yet, he treats me like I am yet another soldier in this war, as if he has forgotten I am also his son."

Magnus raced through his options in his mind. By now, Ragnor and Alec would have received his texts and, hopefully, understood he was in danger. He needed to stall Boris to wait for them. _But what if they_ didn’t _understand,_ his brain asked, unhelpfully. He wasn’t able to use his magic, so he would have to figure out a way to make Boris release his restraints. “So what do you plan to do, kill your rival so daddy loves you more?” Magnus scoffed.

“You think this is a joke? Is everything a jest to you, Magnus?” Boris growled.

“No, but this is.” Magnus wondered if he was taking it too far. Boris may not be as strong as him, but Magnus could hardly protect himself in this state. “You want to impress Asmodeus by killing his best-loved son? Does not seem like a sound plan to me.” When Boris did not respond, he looked around trying to locate the warlock.

The german warlock did not speak for a while. And when he did, his voice was calculating, ensuring he did not reveal too much of his plan. “Kill you? Whatever gave you that idea? I want to take everything away from you. Tonight, under the light of the full moon, I will transfuse your magic with mine.” _Full moon,_ Magnus calculated in his head, _that means I’ve been here for at least two days._ “By the end of the ritual, you will be a mere mortal. We’ll see how father cares for you then. You will no longer be a High Warlock. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nephilim Clave decides to cancel the marriage contract as well. I will come to you then, Magnus Bane, when you have lost everything, and you will beg me for mercy.”

Magnus scoffed again. “Beg you? I would rather be a mortal than have anything to do with _you,_ Boris.”

“I see the hours of passing out in pain have not taught you anything. Sadly, I cannot hurt you anymore until the ritual, I need your magic intact. But make no mistake, you will pay for this disrespect, Magnus,” Boris declared. Magnus was about to retort when they heard a blast from above them.

Magnus heard Boris curse and leave the room. He hoped the explosion was his friends’ doing. Finally being properly conscious, and without Boris to distract him, Magnus started to examine the magical barrier over him. He laughed when he realised the barrier Boris was using was one invented by Magnus. _Oh the irony_. Now that Magnus knew what the barrier was, he could get rid of it, even though it would not be easy. He closed his eyes and pushed the barrier away as hard as he could. It felt as if he was ripping off a bandaid that was stuck to the entirety to his skin. Wincing, he took deep breaths and pushed further. Magnus got additional motivation when he heard Alec’s voice float by, demanding Boris to reveal where Magnus was.

“Aahhhh!” He yelled out as he finally escaped the barrier. He wished he had the chance to regain his strengthbut at this point, he could hear quite a few voices and none of them was Alexander’s. He raced upstairs and saw Boris holding Alec hostage with his magic. None of the others dared to move, scared to risk the Shadowhunter’s life. Alec’s eyes noticed him behind Boris and filled with relief. Magnus gathered up his energy and sent a set of magical pulses to Boris’ back. His magic was not strong enough yet to knock him out completely but it did release his hold on Alec, who immediately sprung forward with a pair of odd looking handcuffs.

“Magic inhibiting cuffs,” he explained when Magnus looked at him with disbelief. Letting Clary take Boris, Alec stood in front of Magnus, nervousness emanating from him.

“Alexan -“ Magnus’s words were swallowed by Alec’s lips. Alec’s arms went around Magnus’ waist, settling at his back and pulled him close. Magnus ran his hands through Alec’s hair. For a moment, he forgot about everyone around them. “You’re not going to run away again, are you?” he said with a smile, his lips still against Alec’s. Alec only kissed him in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited by the new teaser by Shadowhunters (if you haven't seen it yet, check out their Instagram), that I couldn't bear not writing myself some Malec. I don't even care if that scene does not actually make it to the actual episodes (thought I do hope it does), I am just glad to have it exist. :)


	14. Chapter 14

“I was afraid they’d never leave,” Magnus said as he closed the door one last time as Ragnor and Catarina left. After capturing Boris, Catarina had taken the warlock to Lorenzo to be dealt with at the next council meeting while Ragnor had portalled everyone else back to Magnus and Alec’s loft. Magnus had narrated his side of the story to them only to repeat it when Catarina arrived later., Raphael in tow, complaining about missing all the fun stuff. While Magnus was glad to have had the company for a while, he was aching to have some time alone with Alec. They hadn’t had a chance to talk yet (and thankfully none of the others mentioned it in conversation) and Magnus decided he couldn’t wait any longer.

“How are you?” Alec asked, his face coloured with concern. “We tried to get there as soon as we could but even with Ragnor and Catarina tracking our bond together, it took a while because - “

“I was overseas, yes. I am glad you found me when you did,” Magnus smiled. “That way, we were able to capture Boris. Any earlier, and he might not even have been there. I would have ended up living partially in hiding, waiting for him to make his next move.” The warlock had glossed over the parts of his torture, not wanting to burden his friends with the knowledge.

Alec nodded. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“He’ll probably be banished to the deepest levels of the Spiral Labyrinth. But enough about Boris. He’s Lorenzo’s problem now.” Magnus noted how Alec’s posture changed, even though it was very slight. Unconsciously, the Shadowhunter straightened his back a little and took a deep breath. “Alexander, we need to talk about what happened.”

“I know - I just don’t know where to start,” he said softly, looking at Magnus. “I - there is - I’m sorry for the other night, Magnus. I wasn’t thinking and - “

“Please, Alexander. As I said before, you have nothing to apologise for. But I would like to know the why behind it, especially after earlier today, not that I’m complaining.”

“I - I was scared. I like you Magnus, and I want to know you better. I do want us to be more than friends. But I’ve never - I’ve never been with anyone. I haven’t been in a relationship, of any kind, before this. I never had the time. And now, I don’t want you to - to be - uhm - put out by that.” Alec was almost murmuring at the end.

“No! Of course not! Alexander, I think I’ve made it pretty clear I like you as well. I want us to move forward, and I’m willing to move at whatever pace you set for us.” Magnus put his hand over Alec’s.

Alec intertwined their fingers and squeezed gently. “I know what you said about apologising but I still will. What I did the other day was shitty and I shouldn’t have done it. But you make me feel - things I’ve never felt before. No matter how I’m feeling, even a text from you makes me smile.” Alec looked down as he started blushing. “I lose my breath every time you enter the room. My heart beats faster when you walk by. This,” he gestured in the air, Magnus’ hand still in his, “is so incredible and I don’t want to screw it up, Magnus.”

“But you won’t know if you don’t try,” Magnus reasoned. He paused for a moment before continuing. “A million different things could go wrong but that does not mean we cease to live. Take this risk with me, Alexander, will you?" Alec nodded and turned so that his upper body was facing Magnus. Magnus mirrored his movement, pulled his hand away and brought up both his hands to Alec's cheeks, his fingers buried in the Shadowhunter's hair. His thumb stroked Alec's skin and he leaned in slowly, giving the other man enough time to back out, should he want to. When Alec did not move, Magnus touched his lips against Alec's softly. Alec placed one arm on Magnus' back and cupped his head with another, pulling the warlock closer to deepen the kiss. The world around them disappeared for Alec when Magnus softly sucked on his lower lip. He forgot all his doubts and fears as Magnus' fingers ran through his hair.

* * *

 

The next few days were not unlike a fairy tale for Alec. He would, as had become their ritual a long time ago, cook breakfast for the two of them and eat with Magnus. The kiss that followed before he left the loft, however, was a new addition. Magnus had become less subtle in his flirting (Magnus' words. Alec would have used more outrageous) and seemed to have taken it as a challenge to make Alec blush.

Alec had just begun his Friday dinner preparations when Magnus came in. “I think I might take Ragnor’s suggestion,” he said, intently watching as Alec washed some tomatoes. “To learn how to cook from you,” he added at Alec’s questioning look.

“Uh yes, of course, if you want to,” Alec said, nervously.He was still not used to the changes between them but he was definitely not complaining. “But no magic,” he said.

“Done. No magic. So, what are we making today?”

“Burritos,” Alec answered.

“Great. I’ll get started with the chopping then?” he asked moving towards the vegetables Alec had put down on the chopping board and picked up the knife.

“Magnus, have you ever used a knife before?” Alec asked calmly, receiving the expected no in answer.

“Show me how,” Magnus said but did not hand him the knife. Alec blushed as he understood what Magnus wanted, thanks to the meaningful stare he received. He went over the island to stand behind Magnus. His chest against Magnus’ back, Alec channeled all the mundane romcoms he had ever seen (thanks to Izzy and Max) and reached out his hands to hold the warlock’s. He was sure Magnus could feel his heart thumping against his back. As he directed Magnus’ hands into place and whispered instructions in his ear. He felt Magnus’ breath hitch. “Slowly,” he whispered when Magnus tried to increase the speed of cutting. He stilled their hands and traced circles on Magnus’ hand with his thumb. His head was lowered, lips almost touching Magnus’ earlobe. Tentatively, he reached out his tongue to lick it. Magnus rolled his head back with a moan. Alec was elated at the knowledge that he had that effect on the warlock.

He stood still for a moment, unsure what to do next. Magnus seemed to sense it because he turned around to face him and pulled Alec’s head down to meet his lips with his own. “I think - kiss - cooking is - kiss - my - kiss - new- - kiss - favourite - kiss - activity,” Magnus said between kisses.

“Maybe it would be better if we got some cooking done as well?” Alec laughed against Magnus’ lips. Magnus did not conceded until after another couple of kisses.

However, the distractions continued throughout the evening and as a result, they were still in the kitchen when Izzy and Jace arrived. At that point, Alec banished Magnus (again, Magnus’ words) to the living room so that he could finish up quickly and they could watch the movie.

The rest of the evening was pleasurable, with Alec trying to avoid Magnus’ advances as inconspicuously as he could. However, Alec noticed that while Magnus was as bubbly and cheerful as usual when he was talking, there were moments where the warlock would get a sad look in his eyes when he thought no one was looking. Alec had been seeing that since Magnus had returned but had assumed it to be a result of the kidnapping, hoping it would go away in a few days. But seeing it hadn’t, he decided to address it.

“Magnus, is everything okay?” he asked when Izzy and Jace had left.

“Yes, of course.” Magnus had a smile plastered over his face.

“Is it something to do with Boris?” Alec asked, reading through Magnus’ lie.

“It’s nothing. I will be fine,” Magnus said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You are worried about it. That is enough reason for me to be as well.” After a moment, Alec realised it. “There’s more to it than you told us, isn’t there?”

Magnus did not respond immediately. He fixed them drinks and took a place next to Alec. “No, it wasn’t. But I didn’t want to bother you all with the details. The important thing is it is over, and I am so very happy tone back here with you.”

“Magnus - “ Alec started but was interrupted.

“I’ll tell you about it,” Magnus promised him. “But not tonight.”

Alec nodded as he took Magnus’ hand. “Whatever it is, I am here.” 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos and for sticking with the story so far. I apologize for the delay. Unfortunately, my rl does not support my writing. But I'm back with a new chapter and hopefully there will be regular updates going forward.

Magnus and Alec decided to walk back home after dinner and Magnus’ heart leapt when Alec took his hand and held it throughout the way. He knows it is probably not a big deal, after all they have grown much closer over the last couple of weeks. But this is the first time Alec has ever initiated any contact between them in public. Yes, Magnus is aware he is a hopeless romantic for noting that but he doesn’t care. He turns his head to Alec, smiling and receives the most beautiful smile in return. He has never tried denying this before but looking at Alec right now, he is overcome by how much in love he is with the man.

 

When they reached the apartment, Magnus sat down on the couch and pulled Alec next to him. “He tortured me - Boris, I mean,” he said, almost inaudibly. “There was so much pain.” Alec moved closer and put his arm around Magnus, who took the opportunity to lean his head against Alec’s shoulder. “But the worst part was - he made me relive my worst memories - memories that I had buried deep inside my head, never to access again.” Magnus paused for a moment to compose himself as Alec traced soothing circles on his back. Magnus was glad that Alec did not interrupt. “When I was nine, my mother realised who I was. She was so disgusted and ashamed that she killed herself. I was the one who found her, and when I yelled out for help, my step father came in. He - She had told him about me the previous day. He called me an abomination, a monster and I couldn’t hold back, I attacked him with all my magic and burned him alive. I had pushed the memories away but Boris’ spells brought them back to the surface and now, every time I close my eyes, I can see him,” Magnus said painfully.

 

“You were just a child, you didn’t have control on your magic,” Alex tried to reason.

 

“Oh, but I did,” Magnus said. “He was right about me.”

 

“Magnus,” Alec said slowly, holding both of Magnus’ hands in his own. “They werebothwrong - and stupid to say such a thing to a child. You were a little boy. You think you are a monster because you killed him but the fact that this is your most painful memory proves that you are anything but. Think of everything you have been doing, the sanctuaries, helping Raphael and the other vampires, you have done so much good for the Downworld. You, Magnus Bane, are the farthest thing from a monster. You are a good man. That was your past. You are so much more than that one memory. You are an amazing person, Magnus and that is why I - “ Alec paused for a short moment before he continued, almost in a whisper. “I love you.”

 

Magnus made no effort to hide the tears welling up in his eyes as Alec pulled him in for a kiss. It was slow and gentle and Magnus held on to Alec for dear life. “I love you too,” he said, against Alec’s lips.

 

“We should get to bed,” Alec said after a while, pulling away a little, but not letting go of Magnus. He blushed furiously when Magnus’ eyes widened at the suggestion instinctively. “I mean - sleep,” he mumbled. Magnus nodded and hmmed in agreement but resumed kissing the shadowhunter. Alec laughed lightly into the kiss. However, to Magnus’ delight, he reciprocated equally.

 

“You go ahead,” Magnus said, finally pulling away a few minutes later. “I have some work to catch up on.”

 

“But didn’t you say - “ Alec started, and suddenly hit a realisation mid-sentence. “Have you been sleeping at all?”

 

“A little,” Magnus replied, looking away. “Nightmares,” he said in explanation.

 

Alec bit his lower lip as he contemplated over it. “I could sleep with you, if you want - I - just sleep -it helps having someone there,” Alec said, flustered and blushing fiercely. Magnus smiled at him fondly as he said yes. “Okay - I - I’ll just get changed and come to your room then?”

* * *

Alec managed to reach his room before he started hyperventilating. He knew he was doing the right thing. Even though Magnus had been trying to shield everyone from it, Alec could see the toll it had been taking on the warlock. However, the cause of his nervousness was the extent to which their relationship might go tonight. As much as Alec was in love with Magnus, he was still not sure he was comfortable with the idea of sex. It wasn’t that he did not trust Magnus - he trusted the man completely but he did not trust himself, when he was around Magnus. 

 

 _It will be fine_ , he told himself. _Whatever happens, we can both deal with it then._ With that thought in mind, Alec quickly brushed his teeth and put on a t-shirt and shorts before rushing to Magnus’ room. He knocked twice, as his heart raced rapidly.Alec gulped when he saw Magnus. He had removed his makeup and his hair was falling onto his forehead.His nervousness forgotten for the moment, Alec ran his fingers through Magnus’ hair; he did not get a chance to do that often.

 

“You look so gorgeous,” he muttered, smiling when he saw Magnus blush a little. Hands still running through the warlock’s hair, he pressed their lips together. Planting a kiss there, he moved his lips along Magnus’ jawline, pushing them towards the bed.

 

Magnus gasped at the touch. “If you continue that, we are not going to be sleeping,” Magnus whispered hoarsely, pulling away. He must have seen the sudden hurt in Alec’s eyes because he added, “Alexander, there is nothing I wouldn’t want to do with you, but I don’t want us to rush into anything.”

 

Alec nodded as he composed himself. “Thank you,” he whispered, looking down. Magnus smiled and wordlessly lay down on his side of the bed, gesturing Alec to do the same. Magnus fell asleep almost instantly, thank to the multiple sleepless nights before. Alec lay there, listening to Magnus’s breathing and the soft noises of people from outside. He could feel sleep take him when he suddenly heard Magnus let out a whimper.

 

“No! No, I am no-, please,” he was mumbling.

 

“Hey, hey, Magnus, it is just a dream,” Alec said stroking the warlock’s forehead. “Magnus, it’s okay.”

 

“Alec,” Magnus whispered as he woke up and immediately hugged the shadowhunter. “It was awful. I was back with him and -”

 

“It’s alright, Magnus, you’re home, with me.” Alec squeezed Magnus in his arms and kissed the top of his head. “Just breathe, try to match your breathing with mine, can you do that for me?”

 

Magnus nodded against his chest. Slowly, Alec felt the warlock’s breathing even out. "You're good at this," Magnus said.

 

"I've had some experience. When I was twelve, Jace and I were sent on our first real mission. Jace was ten then. We were there with other older Shadowhunters, of course, but it was still scary to see a demon for the first time. I had nightmares for days, until one night, Jace slipped into my bed, trembling. He had been having the same dreams as well, but both of us had been so stubborn to try and deal with them on our own - after all, mom kept reminding us that we were almost grown up men. But that night, he’d had a really bad one and well, we figured out it was so much easier to deal with them together. By the time Izzy got her angelic rune, we knew well enough how to help her with hers. Talking about it helps, you know, if you can.”

 

Magnus hugged him tighter. “Not now,” Magnus said, almost requesting him.

 

“Try and get back to sleep.” Alec traced random shapes over Magnus’ back and neck, trying to soothe him. “I’m here.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus has a problem to investigate - he obviously teams up with Alec.

 Alec grabbed at the side table for his phone, as the alarm blared. One eye half open, he suddenly realised that he was not in his room. It took him a moment to rememeber the events of last night. "Sorry," he whispered to Magnus who had started to wake up from the alarm. 

"Wa' 'ime ee it?" Magnus grumbled in sleep, making Alec smile.

"Too early, go back to sleep." He planted a small kiss on Magnus' cheek and stroked his fingers along his jawline. As Magnus made an indecipherable, happy noise, Alec realised he liked waking up next to Magnus, a lot. He tried to extricate himself from the tangle of their limbs but failed. _It is still quite early_ , he told himself and shifted a little closer to Magnus before falling asleep again. The next time, he woke up, it was because Magnus was prodding him. 

"I am sorry, I didn't want to wake you up," Magnus winced. "But you might be late for the Institute if you don't."

Alec got up, telling Magnus not to worry about it and reached out for his phone. "Oh fuck!" He was most definitely going to be late. 

"Why don't you get ready, I will portal you there," Magnus offered. Grateful, Alec rushed to his room to shower. When he came out, there was a coffee and muffin from a nearby bakery waiting for him. "I portalled there and bought it," Magnus clarified, handing him over the food before opening a portal to the Institute. 

"Thank you." Alec walked quickly towards the portal but stopped mid-step. He turned around, gave Magnus a quick peck before going back to the portal. "I'll see you later." 

Since it had been a quiet few days, everyone seemed to notice when Alec walked in. "What?" he asked, in a mildly irritated tone, as a few of the shadowhunters, including, of course, Izzy, Jace and Clary, continued to stare.

"You're late," Izzy said with a grin. 

"And you still had time to get breakfast," Jace added when Alec raised his eyebrows. "Which can only mean -"

"It does not mean anything and your sluething skills would be much more useful should you try and use them on the footage from Jade Wolf last week, like I asked you to." Casting a teasing glance at his siblings, Alec headed to his office. He should have known that they would follow him there as well. 

"Guys, there is nothing - " he started but was interrupted by Jace.

"We didn't even say anything! For all you know, we could be here about actual Institute business," he grinned. 

"Are you?" Alec asked, sounding more irritated than he was.

"Obvously not," Izzy answered. "We want to know what's going on. And before you say nothing, I should point out that despite your sour comments, you have not stopped smiling since you got here." Smug, the two of them took a seat, staring at him eagerly.

"I am saying nothing, because there is nothing to tell," he repeated. However, when none of them looked like they were going to get up, he sighed. "Things have been going well with Magnus and yesterday," he paused in slight embarrasment. "uh - well, we told each other how we felt." 

It was a moment until either of his siblings spoke. "Wait, you said you lvoed each other?" Izzy beamed. "Wow, Alec, I can't believe we had to pull that out of you! I would have thought you would be screaming around in joy!" 

"You are forgetting the fact that I am not you or Jace," Alec said smugly. 

"Hey!" Jace objected.

"Are you saying it was someone else who repeated _Oh Alec, she is so amazing_  and _Oh guys, I can't believe I found someone so awesome as Clary_ every five minutes? And _I have never felt this way before and I wish_ \- "

"Okay okay, I get it," Jace pouted, interrupting Alec. "This is about you though. And you still have not told us why you were late."

"Did the declarations lead to, you know?" Izzy and Jace both winked suggestively. 

"You guys are the worst. And no, that was it. We were just up late and so I did not wake up on time." Alec groaned internally as he realised that he could probably have used this a few minutes ago in the conversation instead of having said anything to excite Jace and Izzy at all. "Now, can we please get some work done?" 

* * *

Magnus glided around the apartment, making some decor changes, as he was too full of excitement and energy to sit still. While he would have wished to have told Alec he loved him in a happier scenario, his joy at the memory was enough to drown out any negative thoughts, including those of his past. _You are not a monster_ , Alec had said. For once in his life, Magnus felt that it might be true. Feeling too restless, he decided to call Catarina.

"Catarina, how are you, my dear?" he said, his happiness flowing in his voice. 

"Mags! You sound happy, a bit too happy," she responded. "I assume that means everything is progressing pleasantly between you and Alec?" 

"Charmingly," he replied. "But sadly, my husband, unlike me, prefers to do actual work and so I am all alone here. Ecstatic but no one to share it with me, except Chairman and Church."

"I will be at the Coney Island Sanctuary all afternoon, why don't you join me? It has been a while since you have been here," she suggested. 

"I will see you there." With that, Magnus fed the cats and portalled out to the Sanctuary he and Cat had set up for orphaned warlocks. He was immediately greeted by Catarina and Halafarin, the manager for the Sanctuary who took care of most of the day-to-day operations. Neither of them looked in a pleasant mood. "What's wrong?"

"Halafarin has been working with Elauthin, one of our newest residents, since he was not speaking at all since he came here. Well, he did now and he informed him of a woman breeding mundane women forcefully to birth warlocks," Catarina told him with disgust. "Elauthin had gotten lost in the park when he was found by our people." 

"Let's go then, we have to stop her," Magnus said urgently. 

"We have no idea about her safety precautions or the numbers she is raising. We don't know how well trained they are. We need more preparation, Mags," Catarina said. 

Magnus agreed. Moreover, they had no idea what she might do to the children or the mundane women should he and Catarina show up at her doorstep. "What _do_ we know?"

"Her name is Iris Rouge. So far, all we knew she was selling her services to mundanes as well as downworlders for petty things like making people fall in love or giving their bosses a disease," Halafarin informed them.

"We could pretend to be customers," Magnus suggested. "One of us could find out what is going on while the other distracts her."

"We hardly have the skills for an operation like that, Magnus," Catarina retorted. 

"Alec does."

"What are you suggesting? The nephilim would never let us save the children and bring them here, Magnus," Halafarin objected. 

"The New York Institute has been changing, Halafarin. The shadowhunters are trying to work with the downworlders now," Magnus said irritably. "And I am not suggesting bringing the Institute into it. I will ask Alec to go with me and check out the place." 

"That's a best idea we have right now," Catarina conceded. "But you have to be careful, Magnus. Both of you. She could be extremely dangerous." 

Magnus nodded. "Don't worry. Be on standby, should there be an issue. I will send you a message. Where does she live?" Getting all the details from Catarina, he called Alec. 

"Magnus!" came a surprised voice when Alec picked up. "Everything okay?"

"I was wondering if you would perhaps have some free time today?" There was no point beating around the bush.

"Sure, there isn't much going on here. What happened?"Alec asked, clearly worried.

"There is no cause for concern. But I do need some help. Perhaps it would be better if I told you the details in person." 

"Meet me outside in the Institute in five?" Agreeing, Magnus hung up and said goodbye to Catarina, forming a tentative plan in his mind as he portalled to where Alec was. 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec makes a new friend.

"Ready?" Alec asked as they stood outside Iris Rouge's house. Upon receiving a nod from Magnus, he rang the doorbell. They were greeted by a redheaded woman almost instantly. 

"Hello, my dears, what can I do for you?" she asked in a cloying tone. 

Magnus paused for a moment before answering with their well-practiced dialogue. "We have heard you do memory blocks?" he asked.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. What is it that you would like to block out?" 

"Perhaps it would be better to discuss this inside?" Alec suggested, looking around, as if he was worried about being overheard. 

"Of course," Iris said, inviting them both in. "We can talk upstairs."

Alec looked at Magnus in concern. "Would you like me to come with you?" he asked, as they had planned. 

Magnus shook his head, looking down. "I think I should do it alone, it would be easier to talk about it. I - I do trust you, honey, but -"

"I understand, I'll be waiting right here when you are done, okay?" Alec said softly with a smile. He added a peck to Magnus' cheek for effect. 

Iris guided Magnus to the staircase and Alec took a seat. A few minutes later, a little girl came out of one of the doors carrying a sketchbook and some crayons. "Hey there," Alec greeted her but the girl remained silent. "What do you have there?" he asked gesturing to her sketchbook. The girl still said nothing but stretched out her hand to show him her drawing. It was what Alec thought looked like a picture of the house they were in. "This is beautiful! I like drawing too, but I am nowhere as good as you." The girl smiled shyly. Alec wondered if the girl, close to four of five years of age, was one of the warlocks Iris had been breeding. It broke his heart to think of everything she must be going through. "I'm Alec."

"Madzie," she replied in a low voice after a few seconds of deliberation. 

"Do you live here, Madzie?" She nodded in response. "Where's your room?" There was no response. "Where do you keep all your toys?" The girl, Madzie, pointed upstairs. As she raised her hand, the scarf over her neck moved, revealing what looked like a gill. "Cool gills," Alec said. That seemed to click instantly with Madzie who gave him a huge smile. Alec paused before asking anything else. He did not want to involve a child in the investigation but he might be able to get more information with her help. "Hey Madzie, can you tell me how many people live here with you?" he finally asked. Madzie tilted her head to a side and pouted slightly as she started counting on her fingers. She finally showed up three fingers to Alec. "And where do the other people sleep?" He hoped he would get a vocal response this time.

"Nana sleeps upstairs, and Meg. Penny also but now Penny sleeps there," she pointed to a door on her right. 

"Thank you for telling me that, Madzie. Why don't you go up and play with your toys?" Alec suggested, wanting Madzie out of danger when he checked out the room she had pointed to. Thankfully, she agreed and ran to the stairs. Once she was out of sight, Alec moved towards the door, his hand over his bow. Whatever, Alec had expected to see, it was not the almost surgically clean room, a bed against one of the walls with Penny, Alec assumed, lying on top of it, very visibly pregnant and the black demon that was now standing in front of him, dripping something slimy onto the floor. He started to call out to Magnus but as soon as he turned around, he could see Iris standing a few feet away, red with anger, Magnus and Madzie in tow. Suddenly, he felt a stabbing pain. One of the demon's hands was piercing through his side. "Magnus, get Iris," he yelled out, as he reached for his Seraph blade. 

As he tried to fight the demon, hunched over on his bleeding side, Alec heard Madzie scream and then saw her run towards him, while Magnus and Iris fought. "Alec!" Madzie whispered before turning to the demon and stretching her hands out in front of her, in a pushing motion. The demon immediately fell backwards. Madzie gasped as she saw the wound in his side. She turned her head to Iris and Magnus who were still engaged with each other and then back to Alec's wound. The next thing Alec knew was being portalled into a park. Tired from losing blood, he slumped against the base of a statue. Madzie seemed on the verge of tears. 

"Madzie, are you hurt?" he asked her. The girl shook her head and pointed to his injury."Oh, this?" he said, feigning arrogance. "This is nothing compared to everything else I have faced." As he had hoped, his confidence calmed her down a little. "Where are we, sweetie?" 

"Nana brings me to the park," she responded in a trembling voice. 

"Okay," Alec said, taking a deep breath as he tried to avoid his pain from showing in his voice. "Do you think you could take me back?" He took out his stele from his pocket and started to trace the iratze rune. 

Madzie shook her head. "Bad demon. Hurts people."

"Alright. Here's what we will do then. I'll send a message to my husband, okay? He is the man who was there with me at your nana's house. He will come here and take us somewhere safe." When Madzie did not respond, Alec reached out for his phone and sent Magnus a text with his GPS location. "Why don't you sit with me until then?" Feeling slightly better, as his wound closed up, he held out his right arm to signal Madzie to lean against his good side. 

"Is nana going to be fine?" Madzie asked, snuggling against him, almost curled up into a ball. 

Alec bit his lip. He did not know how to explain the situation to a child. "Mostly, yes," he finally said. "No one is going to hurt her. But she did some bad things, like summoning that demon so she will have to go away for some time, until we are sure she is good again." 

Madzie nodded. "Will I have to live with Penny and Meg? Nana leaves me with them sometime but they are weird."

Before Alec could answer, Magnus portalled in and Madzie automatically stood up, in front of Alec. "Madzie, this is Magnus, my husband. He's here to take us to a safe place, like I told you," Alec said, crouchin next to Madzie who relaxed upon his declaration. Satisfied that Madzie was okay, Alec hugged Magnus. 

"Are you okay?" Magnus said, his face colored with concern. 

"I'm fine. All healed up," he smiled. "Runes," he added as an explanation when Magnus was not convinced. "Magnus, meet Madzie."  

 


	18. Chapter 18

 “Alexander,” Magnus said hoarsely, pushing Alec against a wall as soon as they stepped out of the portal into their loft. Alec could feel his sense of urgency as Magnus brought their lips together. “When Madzie - I didn’t - “ Magnus said hoarsely between the kisses.

“Hey, I’m okay,” Alec whispered, pushing Magnus at arm’s length, hands on his shoulders, looking the warlock in the eye. “I’m okay.” Without another word, he guided Magnus to his bedroom. His heart thumped against his chest but he did not want to stop himself anymore.

“Alec - “ Magnus breathed but was shut up by Alec’s mouth against his. “Tell me what you want,” he insisted, pulling away for a moment as Alec pulled them down onto the bed, Magnus lying on top of him.

“I - you know what,” Alec replied shyly.

“I need you to say it, please.” Magnus continued to plant butterfly kisses along Alec’s throat, making it even more difficult to formulate proper sentences.

“Magnus, I want us to - ahh,” he moaned as Magnus sucked on a particularly sensitive spot. “We need to have sex,” he was finally able to say with a weak laugh.

“Couldn’t have phrased that better myself,” Magnus chuckled. Having no idea what to do, Alec hoped Magnus would take charge, which the warlock was visibly happy to as he resumed his kisses down Alec’s chest.

* * *

 

The first thing Alec saw when he woke up was Magnus, lying next to him, staring at him and smiling. “This is a little creepy, don’t you think?,” he teased.

“Yes, please spoil the moment, won’t you?” Magnus said in mock-offence.

Alec pacified him with a kiss. “I love it.” He was interrupted from saying anything further by a call from his sister.

Alec laughed as Magnus sighed dramatically. ‘Go save the world, Shadowhunter,” he muttered as Alec picked up the phone. 

Once it was clear that Izzy did not have any urgent business, Alec quickly explained to her that he won't be coming in today and turned his attention back to Magnus. "So, where were we?" he asked with a smile as he dove in for a kiss and ran his hands over Magnus' naked back. Magnus pulled away for a moment, positioning himself on top of Alec.  "We'll never get out of bed if you continue this," Alec said as he quivered under Magnus' touch. The things that tongue was doing to him! 

"Who said I want to get out of bed?" Magnus winked as he proceeded to lick a sensitive spot on his shoulder making Alec moan. 

It was a while until the two of them finally made it outside to the kitchen. Magnus conjured up crossaints and coffee, promising to drop the equivalent money in the cafe's tip jar later that day. Alec rolled his eyes but did not argue. "Do you have any plans for today?" the Shadowhunter asked, hoping the answer would be no. 

Magnus seemed to have caught on to that because he gave Alec an apologetic smile. "I do have to go to the Sanctuary for at least a couple of hours. Cat could use some assistance with the children." After getting Iris Rouge to the Institute, they had found another house a block away where she had been keeping five other children and two more pregnant women. They, along with Madzie and the two mundanes at the house Alec and Magnus had been to, had been taken to the warlock Sanctuary. 

"Could I come with you? I would like to see more of the work you and Cat are doing. And it would be nice to see Madzie again as well."  Alec wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go there. The other warlocks might not be as open to the idea of being around a shadowhunter as Magnus and his friends. But at the moment, he would have followed Magnus to the moon without a thought.

"Of course, we could use all the help we can get and Madzie seems to be more comfortable around you than any of us." 

It was another hour later that they finally reached the sanctuary. Once Catarina introduced Alec to the Halafarin and the few other warlock volunteers, she led them to see the children they had rescued from Iris. "The pregnant woman, Penny, will be staying with us at the sanctuary until she gives birth. The other mundanes all preferred to leave the children here and move on, except for one fro the second house - Jenna - who wants to stay in touch with her son, and the other children she had helped raise, but has agreed that raising them here is the best idea. The children are, understandably, quite scared. Elauthin's presence has helped a little as has Jenna's. Madzie, however, has not spoken a word or eaten since you both left last night. Do you think you could talk to her?" Cat asked Alec.

Alec instantly agreed. Perhaps it was simply his fondness for kids in general, but he had felt an inexplicable affection for the girl as soon as he had met her. He requested Catarina and Magnus to wait outside while he went in to talk to Madzie, to avoid intimidating her. "Also, could you maybe magic some food?" he asked with a grin. Magnus raised his eyebrows but complied nonetheless, handing Alec a tray with a sandwich, a fruit bowl and a glass of milk. 

"Hey Madzie," Alec said softly, placing the tray on a table nearby and seating himself next to the girl on the bed. 

"Alec." Madzie returned his smile but frowned almost immediately. "You left."

"I am sorry, sweetie, you were asleep so I thought I would take care of some work - we had to make sure the demon was - uh - gone and - " He was cut off by a hug from Madzie. Surprised, he hugged her back, planting a kiss on her head. 

"Don't leave again? Please?" Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears.

"I won't." Alec knew he shouldn't be making this promise but what else was he supposed to say? "Why don't you eat something and then we'll go ask Catarina if she has any games here, okay?" Madzie nodded. As he got up to get the food, Madzie held his hand, trying to pull him back while the tray came floating to them, settling smoothly in Madzie's lap. Alec couldn't help chuckle as Madzie giggled. 

"She is nice," Madzie said between bites. "Catarina," she added at Alec's questioning look. Now that Madzie seemed sure that Alec was not going anywhere, her shyness disappeared completely. As she ate, she went on to tell him about her visits to the park with her nana and her experience with the other women and children at the house. Alec listened patiently, smiling and adding oh's and ah's at the appropriate moments. Once she was done eating, Alec took the tray from her and brushed a few bread crumbs from her chin. 

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked.

"Park." 

As powerful as Alec knew Magnus' magic to be, he wasn't sure if the warlock could have fit a park within the sanctuary. "Why don't you stay here for a moment and I will go ask Catarina where the nearest park is, okay?" 

Alec got up to leave but Madzie tugged on his hand again. "Don't leave." Alec tried to explain that he would be back in a minute but she did not let go of him. In the end, he called Magnus and asked him to come into the room with Catarina.  

"Cat, Madzie and I were wondering if there is a park nearby that we can go to?" Catarina looked unsure at the prospect of sending Madzie outside. "Magnus can go with us, right Madz? You remember Magnus." Alec turned to Madzie. 

Madzie nodded. "He brought us back. He can come." 

Catarina did not look very sure about the idea but agreed in the end. "Do you think Madzie could help me with some questions about her nana before you guys go?" Cat asked Alec, not wanting to intimidate Madzie again by addressing her directly. 

Alec looked at Madzie encouraging her to say yes. She deliberated over it for a moment before nodding slightly. Through Alec, Catarina asked her a few questions about Iris' activities, trying to ensure there were no other mundanes or children that they were missing. Madzie answered most of them with a nod or headshake where she could, using minimal words where she had to speak. "Is Penny and Meg going to be okay?" she asked Alec once Catarina declared she was done with her questions. 

"Are. Are Penny and Meg going to be okay?" Alec corrected her. "And yes, they will be. Meg is going back to her family and Penny will stay here, where Cat can take care of her." 

Satisfied, Madzie nodded and got off the bed, trying to pull Alec up with her as well. Magnus laughed at her eagerness and created a portal for them. "We'll be fine," he assured Cat before the three of them went through, Madzie happily hanging off Alec's neck as he held her against his hip. Once they reached the park, Alec and Magnus let Madzie take the lead on what she wanted to do. For the first fifteen minutes, Madzie stuck close to Alec as they walked around, pulling on his hand whenever she wanted to go in a particular direction, not talking much. However, as time passed, she began to open up, if only a little. By the end of the hour, she was happily running around the park, though she never strayed far enough to be out of Magnus and Alec's vision. In fact, she would glance at them every few minutes, as if checking to make sure that they were still there. 

"Alec, Magnus,look," she called out, pointing towards a duck pond. "Can we go see the ducks, please?" Alec nodded with a smile. Looking at her wide eyes, he doubted he would ever be able to say no to her.  

"You're very good with her," Magnus commented as the two men stood watching Madzie while she ran after the ducks. 

"She is a sweet kid." Alec smiled as Madzie looked at him. However, it soon turned into a frown as he remembered the promise he had made to Madzie. 

"What is it?" Magnus asked with concern.

"I may have screwed up a little," Alec responded tentatively. He continued when Magnus did not say anything. "Earlier when I went in to see Madzie, she was quite upset about us leaving last night and during the conversation I ended up promising her that I won't leave again." Alec paused for Magnus to respond but the warlock remained silent. "I know we haven't discussed this at all, and we ourselves are barely getting started with our lives together. But I couldn't say no to her. She needs a family, Magnus. Do you think - maybe - " Alec rambled anxiously.

"Alexander, do you want us to adopt Madzie?" Magnus asked, his expression indecipherable.

"Could we?" Alec licked his lower lip nervously. 

Magnus looked at Madzie an then back at Alec. "I would love to." Alec forgot all about being in a public place as he pulled Magnus by the waist and kissed him. 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, firstly, please don't hate me for the consistent delays. I had hoped to continue this fic a little longer, but due to rl, that does not seem possible. So here's some closure for myself and for all you great people who have stuck with the fic until the end. Writing this fic was a very different experience for me compared to previous ones because of you amazing readers and your wonderful words. Even at the lowest points (which I had quite a few of during this period), that was what motivated me to write further. Thank you so very much! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading the epilogue as much as I enjoyed writing it. Much love!

"Good morning sweetpea!" Magnus said, trying to wake Madzie up. 

"Don't wanna wake up," she grumbled as she slipped back under the covers. 

"Fine then, I'll tell daddy we will take your presents to Aunt Cat instead. I am sure the kids at the sanctuary would appreciate a bike much more than you, sleepyhead," Magnus drawled. "Alexander," he called out, pretending to leave the room. As expected, Madzie jumped out of bed almost instantly. 

"No, papa, wait! I am up, see," she said, spreading her hands out emphatically. Magnus laughed as he picked her up.

"You're growing too big for me to carry," he complained. 

"And too much like her papa," Alec commented, leaning against the doorframe. 

"If by that you mean amazing, then yes she is," Magnus replied with a mock air of arrogance as he handed over Madzie to Alec, who rolled his eyes. 

"Daddy, can we open the presents?" Madzie asked Alec, making Magnus laugh. After a year of living with them, the little girl knew full well that the only permission that really mattered was that of Alec. "I promise I will eat everything you give me today," she added as she noticed Alec thinking about his decision. Magnus conceded she was becoming a lot like him. He loved it. While she had opened up to Magnus soon after she had started living with him and Alec, Madzie had always gravitated towards Alec. Magnus had understood, given the strange circumstances in which they had become family. It was a few months ago that when Magnus teaching Madzie to control and enhance her magic that Magnus finally felt like they were beginning to bond and Magnus had felt something stronger than he had ever felt. Since then, they had definitely grown closer. So if Madzie was becoming more like him, Magnus was delighted by the prospect.

* * *

 

Madzie grinned at her fathers as she saw the presents in the living room. When she had lived with her nana, the word simply meant another question the women nana brought home would ask her about and she wouldn't know the answer to. When she had asked her nana, she had said that birthdays were for mundanes. Madzie had not understood what that meant. Nor had she dunderstood what her nana meant when she said that people like her, warlocks, did not need to celebrate birthdays because age meant nothing to them. When her fathers had mentioned it once, she had repeated the same. But she instantly knew it was the wrong thing to say because it made both of them quite sad. 

After that, Alec and Magnus had explained to her what a birthday was and decided to celebrate her birthday on the day that she had come to live with them. All her uncles and aunts had been regaling her with details of birthday traditions and anecdotes from their own birthdays. Excitedly, she proceeded to unwrap the gifts from Alec and Magnus one by one. They had gotten her a bow and arrow set - a replica of Alec's, only smaller in size to suit her, a scarf with tiny fish, a bike and a necklace with a purple pendant that looked like it had been broken off a translucent rock. Magnus explained to her that it was a portal glass that was magicked to take her to him or Alec as soon as she touched it.  

She hugged her parents tightly. "I love all of these. Can we try shooting the arrows now?" she asked. However, before either men could answer, her stomach grumbled, making her giggle. 

"I think this little tummy wants some breakfast first," Alec laguhed as he picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. "Guess what we are having today?"

"Waffles?" she asked expectantly receiving an equally exuberant yes in response. The three of them had barely finished breakfast when the doorbell rang. 

"You do know the party is not until two hours later, right?" Alec asked as he opened the door and found Max standing there. However, he completley ignored his brother and proceeded to address Madzie. 

"Happy birthday!" he cried out as he hugged her and gave her a present. "This is the best mundane game ever," he told her as she unwrapped a Jenga box. 

"Ah him too?" Magnus laughed when they came to the living room, to find Raphael standing next to him. "This one called me to portal him here _pronto_ ," he explained pointing to Raphael. 

"I wasn't going to be late for my favourite niece's birthday!" Alec wanted to point out that he wouldn't have been late two hours from now but refrained as he saw the expression of pure delight he, Max and Madzie had. Soon, the three of them were busy planning what decorations Madzie wanted for her party and having Madzie bring their plans to life with her magic. 

* * *

 

Alec smiled at Magnus as he saw Madzie jump across the room, playing and ordering around Max and Raphael. "We're not raising a spolit brat, are we?" he asked. 

"Of course not!" Magnus reassured him. "She's entitled to all this." he waved his hands around. "Yes, she is a little bossy, and pampered. But she is also smart and kind and compassionate, just like you." Magnus planted a small kiss on Alec's cheek. 

It wasn't long until everyone else started to arrive. "Aunt Iz-eeeeee!" Madzie cried out as she ran to Izzy as soon as Magnus opened the door.

"What, no hugs for me?" Jace pouted at her. Madzie laughed as she extracted herself from Izzy and stretched out her hands to signal Jace to pick her up.

"What did you get me?" she asked with a grin, looking at Clary who was standing next to Jace with a gift bag in hand. 

"Madzie," Alec chastised but Jace responded instead.

"It's alright. She's allowed to be excited about her birthday! Here, check this out," he said, turning to Madzie, grabbing a box out of the bag Clary was holding. Madzie gasped when she opened the case. Inside was a set of colour pencils, in more colours than imaginable. "Clary created a rune for them so that they will never get blunt," he said pointing out to the small golden rune that was etched into each pencil.

"Madz, what do you say when someone gives you a gift?" Alec prompted the girl who was too busy with her gift.

"Thank you," she said turning to Alec, who nodded. "Thank you aunt Clary, uncle Jace, this is the bestest gift." She then turned back to Izzy. "Aunt Izzy, can I thank you now?" she said innocently, making all the adults laugh. _Definitely Magnus_ , Alec thought in amusement and shrugged at his husband. Still laughing, Izzy revealed a jewlery box, filled with a variety of bangles, pendants and earrings. Madzie excitedly picked out a few that matched with her dress and put them on with Izzy's help. The Lightwoods were soon followed by Ragnor and Catarina. Izzy jumped in joy at the mundane Operation game that Catarina brought her and to her credit, she showed equal enthusiasm for the book about history of the Spiral Labyrinth from Ragnor that Alec was sure she would never look at again. 

Once everyone had arrived, Raphael brought out the cake he had baked, in the shape of number 5 to denote Madzie's age and he and Max proceeded to guide her about blowing out the candles and making wishes. "Best birthday ever," Madzie proclaimed to Alec and Magnus as she happily ate the cake.  

Post lunch, once everyone had left, Madzie declared she wanted to watch a movie. Alec smiled as Madzie snuggled in between him and Magnus right before the movie started. _I love you_ , he mouthed when he saw the warlock look at him with a look of contentment, as he pulled both of them closer. He may have had a decent life earlier, but now, his life was perfect. 

 


End file.
